Miracles
by DesertSnowQueen
Summary: "If you don't believe in miracles, perhaps you've forgotten you are one." You are the daughter and only child of Natasha and Clint, and you're getting ready to graduate from high school when Tony creates Ultron. The team doesn't know you exist, but they're about to find out. After all, miracles appear where you least expect them. (Reader PoV: Reader has powers) (Rated for safety)
1. Chapter 1: Promises

**Hey everyone! Yes, I know I have three other stories and haven't finished any of them, but I had this idea and it needed to be written.**

 **I hope you guys like this one! It's from the (female) reader's PoV, so it should be interesting, I think. Everything about your past will be revealed as the story goes on, so hang tight and go with the flow! (I don't usually do reader's PoV, but I've read a lot of them recently and decided there needed to be one more.)**

 **By the way, for anyone who doesn't know what the Reiki power symbol looks like, look at the cover image. Most of the Reiki mentioned are silver, but there's one important one you'll see later that looks exactly like the cover.**

 **Enjoy everyone!**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Promise**

"You should be studying," Natasha scolded you as she entered your bedroom. You had left the door open since your cousins weren't visiting and the house was quiet, and you sighed.

"But it's boring!" you complained, turning to face her and closing your laptop, abandoning the story you had been working on when you were supposed to be studying for your AP English final. It was the only final you weren't exempt from, and that was because your parents had been called away on a mission late one night, and the next morning your car broke down on the way to school, meaning you had to wait for a tow truck and your aunt to come get you to drive you the rest of the way, so you missed first period one too many times. You had tried to convince the school to exempt you anyway, since your grades were perfect and you had taken the AP test for it, but they hadn't agreed.

"(Y/n), I know how smart you are, and I know this stuff bores you, but you have to take it to graduate," Natasha said, sitting down on your bed in the corner of the room. The comforter was a blue and purple Hawaiian patchwork pattern from a store on Kauai called Tropical Tantrum—one of your favorite stores for the unique clothes that you can't get anywhere else—with matching pillows. The mahogany bed frame reached all the way up to the ceiling at all four corners with silver silk curtains hanging on every side. The curtains were tied to the frame with blue silk ribbons and fastened with a silver Reiki power symbol studded with stones the colors of the rainbow. The silver Reiki charm was hung all over your bedroom, in varying sizes, and one was hanging on the outside of the door. There was a large alcove set into the wall on the right side of the bed starting at the top of the bed and reaching to the ceiling, and a slightly smaller one behind her pillows, forming a sort of headboard. The walls of the alcoves were made of glass that could even withstand Thor's hammer (apparently Tony had made it for the Avengers Tower and Natasha had stolen some for your bedroom), meaning it was perfectly safe to sit in them, and the cushions were as comfortable as her mattress and decorated the same way.

"I know, Mom. But I only have to take the test because my car broke down that day. I think I should be excused for that," you said, going to join her on the bed. Your mom sighed.

"I know. But graduation is only a week away. You just have to get through this one test, and then walk across the stage in your cap and gown," your mom said. You smiled a little.

"I'll get through it. You and dad are going to be here, right?" you asked hopefully, but before your mother could answer, Clint walked in.

"Hey, Miracle," he said, using his nickname for you.

"Dad!" you exclaimed before running over to hug him. You didn't get to see him very often since your Aunt Laura was pregnant and your Uncle Barney went missing just before she found out, so he usually spent time at their farm down the street. He would help with the house renovations and whatever else was needed until Natasha could get a lead on Barney. After SHIELD fell not to long ago, your mother had been more protective than usual, even running in-depth background checks on your friends, and had been trying to track down a guy with a metal arm for Steve Rogers and your uncle practically on her own.

"How's Iowa City's smartest valedictorian?" your dad asked, grinning at you, and you rolled your eyes.

"It's not like I'm the only high school valedictorian in Iowa City," you said, shaking your head, and your dad laughed.

"Yeah, but you're the only one everyone knew would be valedictorian for the last year at least, if not since you were a freshman," Clint said.

"Even S.H.I.E.L.D. knew," Natasha spoke up, a slightly shuttered look in her eyes, but Clint either didn't notice it or chose to ignore it.

"See? Everyone knew," he said, nudging your shoulder, and you laughed.

"Fine. But you still haven't answered my question. Will you guys be here?" you ask your parents, and they look at each other for a minute before answering.

"We're going to try. Fury just messaged us. There's a H.Y.D.R.A. base in Sokovia S.H.I.E.L.D. just found and they need the Avengers to take it out," Natasha answered, and you felt your heart drop.

"But you promised you would be there!" you cried, and your dad put his hand on your shoulder.

"(Y/n), the mission should only take a day, then we'll have a party at Stark's that he'll make us go to, and then we'll be home," Clint tells you, and you frown.

"I assume that since I'm not invited to the party, you're going to mess with the guys," you tell them more than ask, giving them a pointed look, and Natasha shrugged.

"We might. We'll see," Clint said with a wink, and you laugh.

"I know this is because of Tony," you tease them, and this time Natasha laughs.

"Fair enough. Hey, study hard and we'll be back in time for graduation. Deal?" your mom asked you, and you sighed dramatically.

"Deal," you grumble, and then perk up. "Can I train with you guys before you leave?"

"Sure, Miracle," your dad said with a laugh, and though Natasha smacked his arm, she didn't protest.

* * *

A few days later, you were out behind your family's farmhouse at sunrise when your parents came out to say goodbye. You were meditating next to a pond in one of the fields, spinning the chakra ring you've worn since you first discovered your abilities. The ring was a silver band you wear around your right middle finger, with a second band attached to it that spun around the first, set with red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet gemstones. Each stone represented a different chakra element, and the ring helped to amplify your powers.

You were born with the ability to manipulate auras. At first, all you could do was read the auras in others. When you were little, you could see a light surrounding everyone, and the color of the light changed to show their emotions and health. As you grew older, you began to learn how to do other things. You can heal, track and locate objects and people, mimic other people's auras to understand their emotions and mimic their abilities, and turn your aura into different kinds of weapons and armor. Even your intelligence is a part of your gift related to the blue aura known as Vishuddha. When you're really zen and focused while meditating, you can communicate mentally with others, although it's really rare and hard to do. For the past few months, you've been working on creating something called an astral projection so you can separate yourself from your body, but so far it hasn't worked.

When your parents came to say goodbye before leaving, you were trying yet again to create an astral projection. You were doing something, since you had a visible indigo glow surrounding your body, but no matter how hard you tried, you couldn't figure it out. A gentle tap on your shoulder shattered your concentration (which was likely for the better since you were just getting frustrated), and you turned to see your parents suited up and ready to go. Natasha had swiped a quinjet when S.H.I.E.L.D. fell, so they would be flying that to New York to meet up with the rest of the team. Steve and Bruce now lived in Avengers Tower with Tony and Pepper (Steve had moved in after S.H.I.E.L.D. fell and his apartment was destroyed, according to Natasha); Thor spent most of his time either in England with Jane Foster, following her around and helping her with her studies whenever he could; and your parents were with you unless Fury found something important for them to do. You continued to hope that you would join the team after you graduated, but with how stern your parents were about going to college, that likely wouldn't happen.

"We're heading out," Clint said, and you stood up to hug them both goodbye.

"Laura is just down the street if you need anything. We'll be home in a few days," Natasha continued, brushing a (h/c) lock off your face.

"Be safe. Keep me updated," you told them, and they nodded.

"We always do," Natasha reminded you.

"Bye Miracle," Clint said, kissing the top of your head before leaving, with Natasha following right behind.

You stayed by the pond for about ten more minutes before going back to your room to get ready for the day. You took a quick shower and wrapped your wet, (h/c) hair in a silver towel-hat on top of your head, wrapping a larger, emerald green towel around your body. You pull out a navy dress with gold accents, a square neckline, and short sleeves that came down to just below your shoulder. You paired it with fishnet tights and low-heeled black pumps, and styled your hair so half of it was braided up and the other half was curling softly around your shoulders. You grabbed your backpack, which was black with a silver Reiki symbol embroidered onto it, with colored beading where the jewels belonged. As you left the house and got into the car, you called your best friend who lived in the smaller farmhouse on the other side of yours.

"Hey Mira!" you heard your friend exclaim as she answered the phone, and you couldn't help but smile.

"Hey Claire! I'm on my way," you told her, and you heard something get knocked over on her side of the phone.

"Damn it," she grumbled. "Sorry, (y/n). My backpack hit the table by the door and Liam is still asleep upstairs. My dad already left for work but my mom is out back and she'll kill me if I wake him when he's sick. I'll wait at the end of the driveway." With that, Claire hung up, and you put your phone down to drive the short distance to her house.

Claire Jones had been your best friend for the past four years—your only real friend, if you were honest. She knew everything about you, including who your parents were, why they called you Miracle, that you had powers, and the real reason why your family moved to the farm just outside Iowa City from New York the summer before your freshman year, almost four years earlier. It had taken a few months for your parents to give the okay to tell her everything, and for you to be comfortable enough around her to tell her, but she had accepted it and the two of you became thick as thieves. You went on trips with her family when your parents were away and she went on trips with your family every summer. You spent Christmas Eve with her family, and she spent Christmas Day with yours. Her family always went and visited her cousins the next town over, and she hated going so they let her stay at your place for Christmas Day. You all spend New Years and Fourth of July together in one of the fields behind your houses, with her dad grilling while your dad sets off fireworks. On the Fourth, your S.H.I.E.L.D. uncles Nick and Phil and aunts Maria and Melinda come over and your uncle Phil talks about Captain America for hours. Ever since they found him in the ice (which was the same summer you moved to Iowa City), he would just talk and talk and talk, which was fascinating and entertained Claire's little brother Liam, but it was usually the same thing each year.

As you pulled up to the Jones' household, Claire was exactly where she promised she would be at the end of the driveway. She quickly got into the passenger seat and leaned across the console to hug you tightly.

"Can you believe we're about to graduate?" Claire squealed, and you laughed.

"Finally," you said as you started driving to the school. Claire giggled.

"You're just ready to graduate so you can work for S.H.I.E.L.D. with your parents," she sassed, and you shot her a look.

"Fine. I don't know if they'll let me, though," you muttered.

"They really can't stop you, you know. You're eighteen," she said, and you shrugged.

"I guess. Want Starbucks?" you asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes!" Claire exclaimed, and you laughed before pulling into the coffee shop parking lot. You ran in and the cashier had your order ready when you walked in the door.

"Here you go, (y/n)," the cashier, Alana, said as she handed you your order, and you smiled as you handed her your Starbucks Reward card to pay.

"Thanks Lana!" you called as you took your card back and ran out. You jumped back into the driver's seat and handed Claire her order—a tall S'mores Blended Coffee Frappuccino and a plain bagel—and set your favorite drink in your cup holder, handing Claire your breakfast so she could put it in your backpack for when you got to school. In moments you were off, and you arrived at school with twenty minutes to spare. The two of you walked to your lockers (located right next to each other) and made your way to your spot on campus to eat. It was distanced enough that people wouldn't overhear your conversations, close enough to school that when the bell rings you're not late to class, and located in a shady cove of trees.

"So, Mira," Claire started as she took a bite of her bagel. "Your parents are going to be at graduation, right?"

"They said they would try," you said noncommittally, and she threw a leaf at you.

"They have to do more than try! You're their only daughter, you're graduating high school, and you're the valedictorian! They can't just miss it!" she exclaimed, and you shrugged.

"They can if they have to save the world," you muttered, taking a bite out of your breakfast. The familiar flavors calmed you, and you focused on the sensation of being somewhere you know is safe as you regaind control of your emotions. You were still upset that they might not be there, but you needed to shrug it off and keep your powers in check for one more week.

"(Y/n), they'll be there. You know they always make it. They might be a little late and a little beat up, but they'll be there," Claire reassured you, and you nodded.

"I know," you said, smiling at her, and not long after the bell rang, signaling the start of the school day—and their physics final.

* * *

 **So? What did you guys think? Is there anything I need to change? Did the power stuff make sense? Let me know in your review!**

 **Snowflakes of love and fun to you all!**


	2. Chapter 2: Ultron

**Hey everyone! A bit of a shorter chapter this time, but I wanted to update again and this was really all I had planned for this chapter anyway.**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter, and that this chapter is just as good! I promise to try to make Chapter 3 longer!**

 **Enjoy everyone!**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Ultron **

You had just gotten back the results of your AP Physics final—which you aced—and you were sitting on your bed with Claire when your phone rang. The two of you had been coming up with ideas for celebrating passing your final (finals, in her case), and you reached behind you to the large window seat that functioned as your headboard to get your cell. You smiled happily when you saw the caller ID, and hit answer.

"Hi dad!" you said cheerfully, and your dad laughed from the other end.

"Hey, Miracle. How's it going?" Clint asked.

"Pretty great! I aced my Physics final! I got the best grade in the class," you told him excitedly, and laughed when you saw Claire roll her eyes at you playfully. "Claire passed all of her finals with flying colors, as well. We were just trying to come up with a way to celebrate."

"Well have fun, but not too much fun. No boys, and tell Aunt Laura where you're going if you leave," your dad instructed, and you rolled your eyes.

"Dad, I can take care of myself. I'm eighteen," you reminded him, and he sighed.

"I know, (y/n). I know. It's just hard to think that in a few months, you'll be moving out and facing the world on your own," he said sadly, and you exhaled.

"I know, Dad. So, how'd the mission go? It should have ended by now, right?" you asked hopefully, and there was a pause.

"It ended. It was, successful. A few unexpected bumps, but your mother and I are both fine," he assured her, and she smiled.

"So you're coming home?" you said excitedly, and there was another pause, longer this time.

"We can't yet. Tony created a metal death machine called Ultron that hates the Avengers. We have to deal with him before we can come home," he said, regret filling his tone, and you felt all of the excitement you'd had from acing your final to your parents being home in time for graduation drain out of you as you visibly deflated. Claire frowned at you, her blue eyes filling with concern.

"But you promised! Graduation is only a couple of days away," you told him sadly, unable to help the slight whine that came out with your words. He sighed.

"(Y/n), we haven't broken our promise yet. We're still going to try and make it in time. We just have to deal with this one little thing before we can get there," Clint said gently, trying to calm you down. You tried to swallow around the lump in your throat, not wanting him to know how upset you were when he was so busy.

"Fine. Do you promise you'll make it?" you asked once you could speak again.

"You know I can't promise for sure. But my promise to try still stands," he said, and you practically growled in frustration.

"Do or do not. There is no try," you sassed into the phone, irritation obvious as you quoted the Star Wars line your parents had used so many times as you grew older and were learning to control of your powers. Claire's eyes widened, having never heard you use that tone with your parents before, and your dad sighed loudly enough that your best friend heard from where she was sitting across from you. You knew he was probably pinching the bridge of his nose, the way he usually did when he was struggling to be patient, and part of you felt bad for driving him crazy about this. A much bigger part of you, however, knew you had a right to be irritated that he might not make it home in time for graduation.

"(Y/n), I can't promise for sure that your mother and I will be there. But I can promise that we will do our best to make it," he reasoned, and you sighed, closing your eyes.

"Okay. Just, keep me posted? And stay safe," you told him, and he chuckled quietly.

"That I can promise. I have to go. I'll call you later," he promised. "I love you."

"I love you too. Tell mom I said hi and be safe," you instructed, and he laughed.

"Will do," was the last thing you heard before your iPhone beeped to indicate the call had ended. You set the phone back down on the window seat behind your pillows and dropped your head into your hands, trying to calm down. Claire scooted over to you and rubbed your back, making sure to keep her hand above your shoulder blades. You leaned into her and she draped her arm around your shoulders, rubbing your arm soothingly until you had regained your composure.

"They'll make it, (y/n). They always do. They might be late or injured, but they always make it to the important things," Claire reminded you, and you nodded, smiling a little.

"Thanks, Claire. Now, how about we go celebrate at Menchie's, and then go to the mall?" you suggest, wanting to change the subject, and she laughed.

"Now you sound like you. Let's go!" Claire cheered, and you laughed as the two of you grabbed your purses and phones before leaving the house.

* * *

You were wandering through the mall, enjoying your frozen yogurt and browsing shops, though you really didn't plan on buying anything. A gasp from Claire made you stop in your tracks, senses going on high alert until you realized she was just looking in the window of one of your favorite shops.

"Oh, Mira, they released the new items!" she squealed, entering the store and leaving you to follow with a sigh. She was already shopping eagerly, and you noticed she had a black dress in her hands with a lace neckline.

"What'd you find?" you asked, nodding towards the dress, and she smiled.

"This would be perfect for you for graduation!" she exclaimed, and thrust the dress in your hands before guiding you to the dressing rooms. Your stomach sunk when you realized the dress was backless.

"Claire, you know I can't wear this," you said uneasily, and she hummed before closing the dressing room door, waiting outside.

"Just try it! You'll be wearing the graduation gown anyway!" she called, and you sighed, knowing she wouldn't let you out until you put it on.

You changed into it quickly, noticing that it had built-in cups to make up for not being able to wear a bra with it. From the front, you had to admit the dress was beautiful, though the flowing skirt was shorter than you would prefer for graduation, and accentuated your waist. But the back was completely open. The lace buttoned closed at the base of your neck, and there was a large cutout that went around your shoulder blades and skimmed your sides, coming back together at your tailbone with a short zipper. You tried to get over your unease at the open back and opened the door to let Claire in, noticing that she had grabbed a pair of black, knee-high leather boots in your size.

"You look amazing!" your best friend said with a gasp, ignoring how you bit your lip, and handed you the boots. "I figured you would like these, even if they didn't go with the dress, but I actually think they're perfect."

"Claire…" you warned, taking the boots and slipping them on. You had to admit they went well with the dress, but you couldn't buy the dress. "You know I can't buy this."

"Then I'll buy it for you. Think of it as an early graduation present. And I won't make you wear it to graduation if you really don't want to, but you look fabulous in it so I think you should have it," she said with a soft smile, and you sighed.

"I'll probably never wear it, you know that, right?" you asked.

"Of course I know, Mira. But you'll definitely never wear it if you don't own it. What do you think of the boots?" she asked, and you smiled slightly at her reasoning before looking at your feet.

"They're perfect with the dress, and they fit perfectly too. I'm going to get them," you decided, and she cheered.

"Perfect! Now change out of it so we can keep shopping!" Claire said with a little dance as she walked out of the room, and you couldn't help but laugh at your best friend as you changed.

When you walked out of the room, Claire took the dress while you kept the boots, and you shopped a little longer. Claire found a jeweled, red rose hair clip to wear with her mother's dress at graduation that you made her let you buy, since she was buying the dress for you. It wasn't near as much as the dress, but Claire had said to just let the difference go since you always offered to drive everywhere and almost always paid for Starbucks in the mornings, and all of that combined was worth like three dresses. You discreetly slid a sparkling red sash into your pile and bought that too, figuring you would surprise her with it graduation day.

The two of you shopped for the rest of the afternoon, and you found a dress that you actually could wear to graduation. It was a gold dress with a high neckline and completely covered back, no sleeves, and was fitted in the bodice and had a flowing skirt that ended just above your knees. You already had the perfect heels to wear with it at home, and you knew exactly what jewelry you would wear with it. You paid for the dress, and finally you and Claire drove back to your house. Since school had ended and graduation was in two days, her parents let her spend the night with you. You watched the news, looking for any stories on the Avengers, and your jaw dropped when you turned on one of the local news channels.

"Oh my gods," Claire said, stunned, and you turned up the volume.

"…city is devastated after the Hulk and Iron Man fight…" a news reporter said before you muted the TV, watching soundless images of a massive Iron Man suit battling with the Hulk in the middle of a city. It seriously looked like Stark was trying to kill his teammate. You couldn't breathe. Your parents were there somewhere, and if Banner had Hulked out in the middle of a city, something was seriously wrong.

"Hey, I'm sure they're fine. Your parents usually try to stay out of the news feed anyway. They are spies, after all," Claire tried to calm you down, but you had stopped listening.

You were furiously spinning your ring, trying to focus your powers enough to locate your parents. An indigo glow began to shine around your body, growing steadily brighter until you found them. They were on a quinjet somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean with four other people who must be the other Avengers. You couldn't get a read on their auras from so far away, so you couldn't tell who was who and if everyone was okay, but the general vibes from the jet was not good. Everyone was alive and at least relatively unscathed, at least, so you could relax. You were still too wound up to try to communicate with your parents mentally, and you had a gut feeling that it wouldn't be appreciated, anyway. With a sigh, you stopped spinning your ring and relaxed your powers, breaking the connection.

"They're fine. They're flying over the Atlantic, but they're moving so quickly that I can't pin down exactly where," you told your best friend softly, and she smiled gently at you.

"See, (y/n)? They're fine. They'll make it home," Claire said, before taking the remote from you. "Now, go make some popcorn and I'll find a movie to watch."

"Someone's bossy," you teased, and she stuck her tongue out at you before you went to make popcorn. When you came back in, Now You See Me was just starting, and you grinned. It was one of your favorite movies, and Claire knew that.

You sat down next to her with a giant bowl of popcorn to enjoy the film, but you kept glancing at your phone, waiting for a call to say your parents were ok. The movie ended, and Claire had fallen asleep, but you stayed awake, anxiously holding your phone. You finally passed out around 3:00 a.m., after checking to see where your parents were for what must have been the tenth time since the movie ended. They had flown into American air space half an hour earlier, and yet the call you were eagerly awaiting never came.

* * *

 **So? What did you think?** **What's going on with the Reader? And have you guys figured out who Claire is yet? (I'll give you a hint: pay attention to the names you know from her family! She's not from a Marvel family.) If you haven't, you'll find out in the next chapter.**

 **Also if you want to know what the front of the black dress looks like, tell me in your review and send me an email. I created an email for you guys to use for this specific reason, and it's my pen name (desertsnowqueen) *at* aol *dot* com! (By the way, I may not see the email if you don't leave a review telling me you're going to message me.)**

 **Coming up: the Reader graduates from high school!**

 **Snowflakes of love and fun to you all! ~Des**


	3. Chapter 3: Graduation

**Hey everyone! *gasp* ANOTHER update? Already? It can't be!**

 **Well, believe it, because this chapter is finished and ready to be read and reviewed! Speaking of: thank you to the two people that have already reviewed this story (shoutout to Emmanuelpaganism and a Guest!) because seeing your reviews made my day and encouraged me to write this chapter sooner!**

 **What's happening in this chapter, you may ask? Well, as the title says, the Reader is graduating high school! You'll also find out who Claire's parents are! How exciting!**

 **Anyway, I'll shut up now so you can get to the interesting stuff. Enjoy everyone!**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Graduation**

You woke up late the next afternoon with a blanket draped over you that hadn't been there when you fell asleep. You were still holding your phone, and as soon as you remembered what had happened the night before you unlocked it to make sure you hadn't missed any calls. You hadn't, and your heart sunk before you felt something soft and small be thrown at you.

"You're finally up," Claire said, smiling at you, and you shrugged.

"Yeah. They still haven't called," you said quietly, and she sighed.

"They'll make it, (y/n). Trust them. Or trust me," she said, and you nodded. You checked your phone again, this time looking at the time, and realized it was almost 4:00 p.m. and you had slept more than twelve hours. You sighed.

"Why don't we go do something today? We could go see a movie or go bowling or something. Maybe go swimming?" you suggested. You and Claire had spent the last four summers swimming in the pond behind your house, and it was the only place you would swim since moving to Iowa City.

"Yeah, let's go swimming, then we can go to my place for dinner," Claire said, and the two of you went upstairs to your bedroom. She always left clothes at your house, including a nice dress and a swimsuit, so she wouldn't have to walk the five minutes to her house to change when you wanted to go swimming spontaneously. You pulled on your favorite swimsuit—a tankini that covered your back with a matching skirt—and a few minutes later the two of you were making your way down to the pond with your phones and a speaker. Claire was wearing a green bandeau bikini with a ruffle on the top and halter straps, and had pulled her long blonde hair into a high ponytail. You grinned at her and ran off the dock you liked to meditate on in the mornings, diving off the end of it into the clear blue water. She rolled her eyes at you before pressing play, and F.U.N.'s Some Nights started playing as she jumped into the water after you.

* * *

About two hours later, you and Claire had both showered and changed, and you were driving down to the Jones household. Mr. Jones was on a business trip and wouldn't be back until late that night, so it would just be Claire, Liam, her mom, and you at dinner. When you pulled up, Liam ran out to greet you.

"Claire! (Y/n)!" he cheered when you got out of the car, hugging his big sister. He was ten years old, but adored his big sister and was always fascinated when you would show him your powers. You ruffled his short black hair and he laughed, running back up to the house. You and Claire laughed at her little brother and walked up to the front door, where Claire's mother was waiting. She smiled and hugged Claire and then you.

"Hi Aunt Em," you said with a smile. She may not have been your real aunt, but the Jones family had become a second family for you, and they were as close to your family as your Aunt Laura and her kids were.

"Hi (y/n). Come on in. Dinner is just about ready," Emma Jones said with a smile, leading you into the dining room. The dining table was already set, but you were surprised to see Claire's older half-brother Henry was leaning against the kitchen counter. You smiled and went to hug him, and he laughed when he saw you.

"Hey Miracle," he said, a teasing note in his voice. You pulled back and swatted at his arm.

"I thought you were staying with Regina while you were in college since she lives closer to the campus," you said. Regina was his adopted mom, since Emma gave birth to him before she was really ready for a kid, and her fiancé Neal had been killed in a car crash. The driver of the other car had been texting and crashed into the driver's side of Neal's car, killing him instantly. His best friend (and Emma's current husband) had been in the passenger seat and survived, but lost his left hand.

"I couldn't miss my little sister's high school graduation," he said, pulling Claire in for a hug. She rolled her eyes at you before pulling away from her older brother and sticking her tongue out at him.

"Well either way, it's great to see you," you said, before a battle of the siblings could break out. Henry knew about your powers too, so you didn't worry about hiding it from him. Emma came back in then and smiled at them.

"Dinner's ready," she said, and you followed Henry, Liam, and Claire into the kitchen. The dinner was amazing, and you spent hours sitting at the table laughing about everything. You told stories until you were all practically falling asleep, and they let you spend the night so you didn't have to worry about spending the night at your house alone, or driving the short distance home. You went up to Claire's room and the two of you passed out, excited for your graduation the next night.

* * *

The first thing you did when you woke up the next morning was check your phone to see if your parents had called. When you saw there was no notification, not even a text, you felt your heart drop. Graduation was in a few hours, and they hadn't kept their promise to keep you posted. You went into the bathroom and got dressed, and when you came back out, Claire was sitting up in bed, holding your phone.

"Did they call?" you immediately asked, and she shook her head.

"No, they didn't. I'm sorry," she said, giving back your phone. "I did want to ask though, do you want to practice your valedictorian speech with me? I could get Henry too, if you wanted."

"I would love that, actually," you said, smiling. You had hoped to practice it with your mom, but Claire and her older brother are the next best thing.

"Okay. I'll go get him," she said, and ran out of the room. Minutes later, she came back in with her big brother in tow, with his brown hair sticking up in all different directions as if he had been shocked and wearing baggy pajamas.

"Hey, Sparky," you teased as he yawned, and he shot you a sleepy glare before plopping down on his little sister's bed.

"Whatever Miracle," he said, stifling another yawn. "Let's hear that speech of yours."

You rolled your eyes at him as Claire sat down and you pulled up your speech on your phone. You had emailed it to yourself and saved it in Notes, so you could go over it any time you wanted. You began to read, and they listened intently. Every so often, Henry would point out something that he thought should be phrased differently. Claire helped you find a way to say it that kept the audience attentive, and told you what emotion to put where to highlight certain moments. A few hours later, you all decided the speech was perfect and that you were ready, and you drove home to get ready for the ceremony. They had offered to drive you to the graduation ceremony if your parents weren't home in time to bring you. All you had to do was text Claire and say if they were there or not.

* * *

As you were getting ready, you turned your phone on full volume so you would hear it ring for sure. The only sounds in the room came from your iPod playing your favorite songs quietly in the background and the rustling of your gold dress as you moved around. You put on a gold choker with delicate, draping chains, and a matching, wide but delicate gold bangle on each wrist. You slipped on a pair of gold heels, and pinned up your (h/c) hair in an elegant bun high on your head. You decorated it with a few delicate gold pins, and texted Claire to ask them to pick you up. You grabbed your gift for Claire and your speech and headed downstairs with your phone on vibrate and in the pocket of your dress. You opened the door just as Claire's family pulled up.

"Hey (y/n)!" Claire called, rolling down the window. Her blonde hair was pulled into an elegant ponytail and pinned with the rose hairpiece you got her, with her bangs curled and framing her face, and her makeup was done elegantly. She was wearing a light pink dress with a slight V-neck, and cap sleeves that were slightly off-the-shoulder. The skirt was knee-length and perfect for dancing. You smiled and climbed into the backseat of the Jones's car, holding Claire's present eagerly.

"I got you something," you said to your best friend, handing her the present.

"You know you didn't have to," she said with a slight frown, taking the gift.

"And you didn't have to buy me that dress," you countered, smiling at her. "Besides, I wanted to. Open it."

She did as she was told, and her eyes widened slightly. You had tucked the red sash in around the original present you got her, which was a beautiful rose gold, heart-shaped locket that had a diamond butterfly with mother of pearl wings and her first name engraved in beautiful cursive script. Inside, you had put a picture of her with her parents, Henry, and Liam that you had taken while on a family vacation with them the previous summer, opposite a selfie of the two of you taken at your senior prom. Her eyes watered a little as she hugged you tightly, and she smiled brightly as Henry helped her put it on. You helped her with the sash, tying it in a bow in the back and making sure it covered the little pink belt the dress already had.

"Perfect!" Liam cheered, grinning at his big sister. Claire turned to you, still smiling.

"It is perfect. Thank you, (y/n)," she said quietly, and you hugged her.

"Of course," you said as you hugged her back. Her parents smiled at the two of you and her dad turned up the radio as he drove to the school. You, Claire, and Henry sang along to every song, and Liam even joined in when some of his favorites played.

For a while, you forgot about everything that ever bothered you, and you were just a normal high school senior. But when you got into the auditorium where the graduation would be held and realized your parents weren't there, all your hopes crashed down. You waved goodbye to Claire's family before the two of you made your way to your homeroom to put on the graduation gowns and line up for the start of the ceremony.

When you had all walked in and were settled, you began to spin your ring subtly, looking for your parents, or any of your aunts or uncles, really. You found your parents with the other Avengers at your Aunt Laura's house with her, and your Uncle Nick was walking into the back of the auditorium behind you. You focused on your parents until it was almost time to read your speech, and you almost cried when you realized they had gotten on a quinjet and were heading for Seoul, South Korea. You didn't have time to be upset, however, because right as you broke the connection, you were called up to read your speech. You quickly regained your composure the way your mother had taught you, and smiled out at the crowd.

"Friends, family, faculty and teachers, I want to personally thank you for joining my fellow classmates and I for our graduation ceremony. As we all know, high school graduation is an important part in all of our lives, as we are about to be thrown out into the world to make it our own. This is the last moment we will join together as classmates, because after tonight, we will no longer be students, but alumni, and we will be going off to different colleges and entering vastly different walks of life," you started, taking a breath as your eyes settled on the familiar faces in the crowd. None of them were the faces you had hoped to see, but you knew now that those faces would not be making an appearance, and you put all of the raw emotion from that fact into your speech.

"Many of us will graduate college and start our careers in the jobs that we've been looking forward to for years. Many of us will follow in our parents' footsteps and do the same kind of work they did. Some of us will take a different path, and perhaps become performers or writers, or move to a different country to pursue a career there. Most of us will eventually become parents ourselves, and start our own kids on the journey that got us to this point in our lives, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. We are young, still, and have our whole lives ahead of us before we should even start thinking about creating new lives. This is the time to really find out who we want to be. Now is the time to explore the world, do crazy things, and create the stories that we will one day tell our children and grandchildren. Now is the time to do the things we will never regret, and never forget. We will always remember the teacher that always went all out during Spirit Week, or the one who _really_ loved physics," you said with a smile, and the audience laughed before you continued. "We will always remember prom night, and homecoming, and how our football team beat every obstacle to win this season. We will always remember our senior retreat, where all of us were dropped in Disney World for a week with only a couple of teachers. We will always remember the people who helped us survive these tough four years, and while we may not remember everything our teachers taught us during class, we'll remember the moments with them that defined each year."

"Our high school years have been one crazy moment after another. We were about to finish freshman year when the Avengers teamed up to defeat Loki in New York, proving that not only was magic real, but superheroes were too. When the battle ended, just days before school did, we all teamed up and travelled to help those people in any way we could. We were in the middle of our junior year when aliens attacked London and Thor arrived to help, and we were finishing our junior year when everything changed. The organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. fell, and none of us were really sure who we could trust. That was the moment when we turned to the people closest to us, to our best friends and family members, to help get through the next year. This year, we once again see near-insanity rear its head. We faced our hardest finals, and passed them," you said, the teasing note in your voice making your classmates and teachers alike laugh. "For anyone who has been watching the news, the Avengers are at it again. They continue to risk their lives in an attempt to keep people safe. Tony Stark's home was attacked by a robot he built that malfunctioned. They fought that same robot in Wakanda just days ago, and had to contain the Hulk when things took a turn for the worst. But as we've seen before, these incredible people don't give up when things get hard. If they had, they probably would have given up when Loki attacked New York. Or when S.H.I.E.L.D. fell. But they still fight for the people that can't, and I think that's something we can all learn from."

"With the exception of Thor, when you look past the surface, the Avengers are all just people like you and me, trying to make a difference in any way they can. As we move forward in our lives, that is what we need to remember. We need to remember how they never gave up, and how they always fought for us. We don't necessarily have to jump into a war against aliens and magic and nothing we are prepared for, but we can't give up when we know we can make a difference. If five people and one god can defend the entire world against another god and an alien army, why can't one high school graduate defend their friends and neighbors against other people? Why can't one college student stand up for themselves? Why can't a team of young people work together to stop a problem that affects everyone, like texting and driving? Why _can't_ we?" you asked passionately, pausing for effect. "The truth is, we can. The only thing stopping us is ourselves, and once we overcome that, no one can hold us back. So in the future, when you are faced with a problem that seems impossible, remember that you lived through crazier situations and a team of brave people overcame them every time. You can be one of those brave people."

"The things that make heroes super don't come from any special training or enhancements. Heroes become super because they believe they can be, and that belief comes from inside of them. All of the graduates I see here, my fellow graduates, all have the potential to become super, and if you don't believe that for yourself, I'll believe for you. You, the graduating class of 2015, have overcome every obstacle presented to you on your way to getting here, and I know that you'll overcome every obstacle presented to you from here on out," you said, and the room was quiet for a moment as they processed your theoretical "mic-drop moment" before the audience broke into applause. You smiled brightly, feeling relieved, and when the room finally quieted down again and people sat back down, you took a breath to steady yourself.

"Congratulations, my friends and graduating classmates of 2015," you said, and the audience began cheering again as you walked back to your seat. Soon after, they were calling names to receive diplomas, and before you knew what was happening, you were moving your tassel from the right of your cap to the left, and you had officially graduated high school.

* * *

When the crowd had finally begun to file out of the auditorium, you found a relatively open area where you could actually breathe without bumping into someone. There was a tap on your shoulder, and you turned to see your Uncle Nick standing behind you.

"Congratulations, (y/n)," he said with a rare smile. You couldn't help but smile back, and hugged him quickly.

"Thank you for coming," you said quietly, and you could sense he was upset about something as he hugged you back. Before you could ask what it was, however, Claire and her brothers came over.

"(Y/n), your speech was so great!" Liam cheered, and you laughed.

"Thanks," you said with a shy smile, ruffling the ten-year-old's hair.

"It really was amazing, Mira. You did a great job," Claire said, hugging you tightly. Henry rested his hand on your shoulder and hugged you when his little sister let go.

"Your parents would have been proud of you," Henry and Nick said at the same time. You couldn't help but blush slightly at the praise and just smiled brighter.

"Well, they'll get a chance to see it. I recorded it for them," Mr. Jones said proudly before shaking Nick's hand. "Good to see you Nick."

"Killian, Emma," Nick said, nodding to Claire's parents in turn. He hugged Emma briefly in greeting before turning to Claire. "Congratulations, Claire. You look just like your mother."

"Thanks," your best friend said, fighting off a blush. You stopped yourself from laughing as she turned to you. "Do you need us to drive you to the party?"

"I actually don't know if I'm going," you said, and her jaw dropped.

"But you have to go! You're the valedictorian!" she protested.

"You've earned it, you know," Henry jumped in.

"I know, I just, I don't feel like partying right now," you said. Emma tilted your chin up gently so you would look at her.

"You deserve to party tonight. You don't have to stay very long. Killian will drive you home whenever you're ready, you know that," she promised, and you smiled a little.

"Thanks, Aunt Emma. I'll let you know," you said. She nodded at you once before taking her husband's hand.

"I'll drive her, if you don't mind," Nick said, and Emma and Killian both nodded.

"Of course we don't mind," Killian said, and you smiled at your friends.

"I'll meet you there, okay?" you asked, and they nodded. Claire hugged you goodbye, and her family waved before leaving you alone with your parents' boss. He nodded in the direction of the door, and the two of you walked to his car quietly. It wasn't until you were on route to where the party was being held that you spoke up.

"Why didn't they tell me they were at Aunt Laura's house?" you demanded, turning to your uncle. You had never been quite sure that he should drive with only one eye, but he was THE Nick Fury, and somehow managed to do everything and be a badass with only one eye.

"They couldn't," he said simply, and you let out a frustrated breath.

"That's bull," you accused him. "They could have walked to our house, which is next door to Laura's, and told me they were there. They could have called. I understand if they had to leave because of Tony's stupid robot, but they could have told me."

"(Y/n), your mother had been hit pretty hard by an enhanced they encountered in Sokovia. Everyone was, except for your father. And that stupid robot is everywhere. He's all over the Internet, looking for any trace of the Avengers. They had to lay low," he told you, not taking his eye off the road. "As for walking to your house, I don't know why they didn't, but I can only assume it was because your dad was worried about your mom and the others, and wanted to stick around in case they started arguing and things got out of control so he could keep Laura out of it."

"That's not an excuse, Nick, and you know it. I'm going to kick Tony's ass when I meet him," you said bitterly, and he glanced over at you while at a stop sign with his eyebrow raised.

" _When_ you meet Stark?" he asked incredulously, and you leveled him with a look to rival your mother's.

"Yes, when. I'm going with you when you go to wherever the final battle is," you said, fully serious.

"You know your parents won't let you go," he said, and you raised an eyebrow.

"Nick, I'm eighteen and just graduated high school. If I want to go, I can. Besides, they aren't here to tell me no," you said sassily, and he sighed.

"And if I say no?" he asked.

"You won't, because I'm your favorite adopted niece," you said, your voice and smile saccharine-sweet. He shot you a look out of the corner of his eye.

"Only adopted niece," he reminded you, and you shrugged.

"Details, details. Either way, we both know I'm going," you said, and he sighed in defeat.

"Fine. In the morning, after you enjoy this party and tell the Jones family and Laura where you're going," he compromised, and you smiled in victory.

"Deal," you said. You fully enjoyed the party, and eagerly told Claire and her family that you were going out of town with Nick in the morning and would be back in a few days. They warned you to be careful and come home safely, and you promised you would.

When the party finally ended and you were home, you changed quickly and fell into bed, setting your alarm for early in the morning. You ended up waking up five minutes before it went off and threw some clothes into your now empty backpack, including the dress Claire had gotten you (just in case), and a pair of Nano-mesh leggings your mom had had made for you. You even grabbed an extra bit of the special armor your mom wore and a sewing kit in case anything happened, and the knife your dad had gotten you for your fifteenth birthday, right after you moved to Iowa City. You wrapped up the candles you used when you really needed to focus your powers and put those in too, with one in each color to represent each different chakra point in the body and a silver Reiki power symbol on one side and the chakra symbol connected to each color on the other.

You threw your black leather and Nano-mesh jacket on the bed (your parents were a little obsessive over you being protected, but you didn't mind because the armor and weapons were really cool), and got dressed for the day. You wore a pair of comfortable, dark blue jeans and a fitted black tank top with a silver Reiki power symbol like the ones all over your bedroom embroidered on the front. Claire had often been confused by shirt, not understanding why you would hide one thing that was a part of you while advertising it at the same time, but you ignored her because you loved the shirt. You pulled on your new boots and slipped on your jacket to cover your back, then grabbed your backpack and ran downstairs.

You made your way to your Aunt Laura's house to tell her you were going with Nick for a few days, and while she was uneasy, she didn't try to stop you.

"You're eighteen," she said simply. "If you want to go, I won't stop you. Just come home safe."

"I will," you promised, and when Nick came to get you, you were already sitting on the front porch waiting.

* * *

 **So? What did you think? How would you feel if your parents hadn't attended your high school graduation when you were the class valedictorian? Did you like your valedictorian speech? (It was definitely fun to write!) What would you have done if you were Fury, or Laura? Leave a review to let me know!**

 **Surprise! Claire is the daughter of Emma Swan and Killian Jones (Captain Hook) from Once Upon A Time. When did you figure it out? Tell me in your review for this chapter!**

 **The next chapter is going to be mainly about the final battle in Sokovia, in case you couldn't tell. I hope you guys are as excited for it as I am.**

 **Snowflakes of love and fun to you all! ~Des**


	4. Chapter 4: Sokovia

**Hey everyone! Be amazed! There's already a new chapter!**

 **There were three reviews on the last chapter, and it hasn't even been posted for a full day! That's more reviews than any of my chapters get after being posted! Thank you guys (alexiswayman3, which I know is not exactly your username but the site wouldn't save it properly, AvengerFrost, and Guest) so, so much! Shoutout to the Guest, because I want to tell you that you don't have to worry about Pietro dying. I love him too. I can't kill him off. And it** **seemed like you guys all liked my nod to Once Upon A Time. There will definitely be more of that in the upcoming chapters, but none in this one, sadly.**

 **I am going to apologize in advance for the second half of this chapter. I tried to write it so you could read it with the accent. I, personally, don't think I did a very good job. I sincerely hope that none of you lovely readers are offended by my horrible accent writing.**

 **Anyway, enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: Sokovia**

"Mom's in Sokovia," you said without preamble as soon as your father answered the phone. "At the H.Y.D.R.A. base. Graduation was great, by the way."

"(Y/n)," you father started, regret in his voice, but you cut him off. You were still mad at him for breaking both of his promises.

"Did you think I wouldn't look for you when you didn't call or send a text or an email or anything? Even a letter saying you couldn't go would have been fine," you said angrily, and hung up the phone.

He didn't call back, and neither did you.

* * *

A few hours later, you were standing next to your uncle on the Helicarrier S.H.I.E.L.D. had managed to save when H.Y.D.R.A. first came back a year earlier, watching security footage from the fight that was starting in Sokovia. There were two younger adults who couldn't have been older than twenty or maybe twenty-one and were obviously enhanced. The girl had brown hair and wore a red leather jacket over her black dress, and glowed with red energy that was obviously magic. The boy had silvery-white hair with brown roots, blue eyes, and a little bit of brown stubble on his cheeks and chin. You had to admit that he was handsome, and he had a silvery-blue tint to his aura that you had never seen before. He was fast, faster than you would never have been able to follow if it wasn't for the trail his aura left, and it was obvious he was able to heal quickly when he just shrugged off getting shot in the arm as if it was nothing. You couldn't believe that the team had let these two fight with them, but you weren't allowed to. Your jaw dropped, however, when you saw how many robots Ultron had created.

"Guy's multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit," you muttered, and Nick burst out laughing. You looked at him in confusion at first, then concern when he didn't stop laughing for several minutes.

"That's what I said too," he said when he could finally speak, and you chuckled.

"Well it's true," you said, smiling slightly. You watched the fighting for a few minutes, but when it started getting really bad, you had a horrible feeling that someone was going to get seriously hurt.

"Uncle Nick, I'm going to head to the medical bay and set up, just in case. I have a bad feeling. If anyone is seriously hurt, send them to my room," you said, and he nodded at you once before ordering an agent to escort you.

To be honest, you already knew where the med bay was in the carriers, since you had spent quite a lot of time there before moving to Iowa City. You suspected the agent was just so you wouldn't be walking around alone, or so you wouldn't have any bad memories. Either way, it was a nice gesture, but the walk was fairly silent, with only a few awkward attempts at conversation before you got to the empty room you had spent so much time in, once upon a time. You nodded briefly to the agent who had escorted you, dismissing him, and he waved awkwardly before leaving you alone. You set up the room, putting one of the chairs your parents had once sat in against the wall next to the bed, before placing the candles. You put the green one, the indigo one, and the purple one in a triangle on the bedside table on the right side of the bed, with the green one closest to the bed and the purple one closest to where you would put the chair. You put the yellow one on the sill of the window next to the door, and the blue one on the bedside table to the left of the bed. The red and orange ones were placed on a table at the far side of the room, equally far away from the door. You were happy to see that the box of matches you had left behind years ago was still in the drawer of the right bedside table. You lit one of the matches and used it to light the red and the orange candles first, before walking over to the window to light the yellow one. Once they were lit and the flame was burning brightly, you walked back to the bed and put the matches back where you found them.

You sat on the center of the bed Indian-style and closed your eyes, spinning your ring. You focused on getting your emotions under control so that if someone came in seriously hurt, you would be able to heal them more efficiently. The longer you focused, the more you became aware of the orange aura surrounding your body. When you had finally gotten your emotions under control and were calm for the first time since you heard Stark had created Ultron, you shifted your focus. As you focused on creating an energy exoskeleton to function as a barrier against threats, your aura lightened from orange to yellow. The aura became brighter and brighter, until the room was washed in a lemon-yellow sunlight, and you pushed your aura out to encompass the entire room. The yellow candle flickered briefly before you felt the aura settle, and you let yourself relax a little. Now if anything happened, you didn't have to worry about defending yourself while you were healing. True, you could have just asked Fury to post guards outside the door, but at least this way you weren't a prisoner. The shield you created would hold for as long as the candle burned while you focused on other things.

Just as you stopped spinning your ring, you felt as if something was about to go very, very wrong. You ran out of the room and made your way to where Fury was watching the security footage, just in time to see the fast boy you noticed earlier jump in front of your dad and a little boy to block a shower of bullets from a quinjet one of Ultron's robots had stolen. You gasped and froze for just a minute before racing out of the room to where the rescue boats Fury had sent out would come back. As you ran, you started screaming for someone to get a gurney to bring the fast one to the room you had set up. You waited at the door, pacing, until the boats arrived and the doors opened. The agent that had escorted you earlier got there as soon as everyone had piled off, and you ran onto the boat.

Your dad was sitting next to the boy, watching him with sad eyes. When he saw you come in, his gaze turned guilty, and he stood up, but you were focusing on the boy.

"(Y/n)," he started, but you shook your head.

"He's still alive! Get out here!" you yelled at the agent, and he ran onto the boat with the gurney.

"(Y/n), he's not," your dad said quietly, trying to urge you away from the boy, but you leveled him with a glare that was even scarier than your mom's, one he hadn't seen before.

"If I say he is, he is. He still has an aura, but it's fading, and if I don't hurry, he will be dead," you said, your voice dangerously low, and your dad backed off. He helped the agent ease the boy's body onto the gurney.

"Get him to the room you showed me to," you ordered the agent, who nodded. "Hurry."

The agent ran off, and you chased after him, only to be stopped by the people who had filled the corridor. Your mother was standing in front of you, along with Stark, Rogers, Thor, your Aunt Maria, and your Uncle Nick. Your father moved to stand next to your mom, and you huffed in annoyance.

"Look, I don't have time to talk. The more time it takes me to get to him, the less likely it is that he'll make it. I know I've beaten every odd thrown at me, but this isn't one I'm willing to risk," you said irritably, pushing your way between Iron Man and Thor. They watched you curiously but didn't stop you as you started running down the hall.

"Miracle, wait!" your dad called, but it was too late. You had already rounded the corner and were racing to the room you had set up in advance. You managed to get there just as the agent was putting the boy on the bed in the middle of the room, and you quickly lit the rest of the candles, starting with the green one. You shooed the agent out as soon as every candle was lit and moved the chair next to the bed before sitting down. You started spinning your ring, focusing on healing the boy. It would be a difficult task, especially since you had to focus harder than usual to get all of the bullets out. You would have to construct your aura into something solid to pull them out, but first you had to stabilize him. You spun your ring faster, feeling the glow around you turn green, and in minutes, his weak, silvery-blue aura began to brighten and turn green as well. The healing process had begun.

* * *

"Okay, who was that and why did you call her Miracle?" Tony asked your dad, but it was your mom who answered.

"Our daughter," Natasha said simply, her eyes sad as she stared after where you had disappeared.

"Wait, what?" Steve asked, and Thor looked at your parents in confusion.

"Friend Barton, I thought you were married to Lady Laura?" the god asked, and your dad shook his head.

"Nope. She's my sister-in-law. My brother went missing a little more than eight months ago, and hasn't been found yet. He disappeared before she found out she was pregnant. I've been helping her any way I can," Clint said, wrapping his arm around Natasha. "We've been married since before my brother started dating Laura."

"Okay. That still doesn't really tell me why you called her Miracle. Is that her name?" Tony asked. Your dad sighed.

"No. Her name is (y/n). We call her Miracle because the only way she's here is through a series of miracles," he said, looking to your mom to elaborate.

"I was sterilized in the Red Room, before I met Clint. We got really close through our partnership with S.H.I.E.L.D., and we were married in Budapest, right before a firefight started in the city. A few months later, I started getting really sick, and S.H.I.E.L.D. ran some tests that ultimately showed I was pregnant. The odds of that happening were slimmer than Tony's chances of ever being able to lift Thor's hammer," Natasha said, glaring at Tony when he interrupted her with an indignant "Hey!"

"As Nat was saying, the chances of her actually being conceived shouldn't have existed. The chances of her being born alive and healthy were even slimmer. Everyone, ourselves included, thought she would be born dead, or born with a defect that she would either live with or die from. But she was born perfectly healthy. She has powers, although no one has any idea where she got them, and she meant it when she said she's beaten every odd ever thrown at her. She's our Miracle," Clint continued, looking at the group. Everyone was staring at them incredulously as they tried to process what was said. Steve was the first to recover.

"Why didn't you tell us sooner? We've been teammates for three years," Steve asked them, trying not to be accusing, but a slight accusing note came out anyway. Your mother sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Because she only just graduated high school. Her graduation was the night we left Iowa City to go to Seoul," Natasha said.

"We were down the street from her and she didn't know until we left, right when her graduation started," Clint added. All the guys looked at them in shock.

"You missed it," Tony said quietly, "because I messed with alien stuff."

No one said anything after that. Your parents slowly made their way to where they knew you would be, in the room you had spent so much time in growing up. Steve went to see how he could help the people they had saved, and Thor went with him. Fury and Maria both went to their offices on the Helicarrier, and Tony was left alone. He wandered throughout the carrier, helping people wherever he could. He avoided Rhodey, who couldn't figure out why he was being so quiet, and he avoided the Vision and Wanda. He tried to find Bruce, to no avail. He wandered down to the medical bay and saw Clint and Natasha pacing outside a door, with a yellow candle lit in the window. He didn't know what it meant, but when they saw him, they led him away from the corridor, and he could only assume (y/n) was inside.

* * *

You had been working on healing the boy for hours, much longer than you had ever attempted to heal anyone before, but you could tell he was special. He had laid down his life to save your father, been shot through more times than you wanted to count, and still had a chance to survive. He deserved to live after all of that, and you were determined to fix him. You had managed to get out almost all of the bullets, using a tool made from the solidified yellow light of your aura, and you were working on the last one when you felt an immense pain in your head, and your vision blurred.

You blinked open your eyes, and realized you couldn't move a muscle. You were sitting backwards in a chair, naked and with the front of your torso pressed against the metal back of the chair. Your arms were tightly encased in metal, making it look like you were hugging the chair, and your legs were encased in the same metal curled under the chair. There was a gag in your mouth, making it impossible to scream, and your face was pressed against what looked like a massage table face cradle and held in place by a bar at the back of your head. You started panicking when you recognized the room, but you forced yourself to calm down. You tried using your powers to break the binds, but before you realized it was hopeless, you noticed a slight red tinge at the edge of your vision and outlining the things you could see. You realized it was just an illusion, and your aura turned purple as you focused on breaking free of it.

Seconds later, you were back in the med bay room and your head felt like you were about to explode. The boy's aura was still glowing green, so you knew he was still healing (thanks to the candle, most likely). You groaned quietly and rubbed your temples, squeezing your eyes shut tightly. You heard a slight gasp behind you, and you turned to see the brunette with the red magic standing behind you with wide eyes.

"What the hell?" you snapped, the pain in your head making you irritable again. "Are you trying to kill him?"

"Vhat? No!" she snapped at you, coming closer. You vaguely noticed that her hands were glowing red. "Vhat vere you doing to my brother?"

"I was healing him, and you distracted me. If it wasn't for that flickering green candle," you said, pointing at the candle in question, "he could have died."

"Vhy vould you heal him?" she asked you suspiciously, and you sighed.

"He wasn't dead when they got him here. He got shot saving my dad, so I had to save him," you said simply. "Can I go back to what I was doing?"

She nodded, pulling a chair over to the other side of her brother so she could see both the door and your face. The room had gotten really warm while you were working, so you shrugged off your jacket and folded it over the back of the chair. The back of your tank top was barely high enough to make you feel comfortable wearing it without anything covering your shoulders, but you were way more comfortable in the room without the jacket than you were with it. You started spinning your ring again and closed your eyes, focusing on the boy in front of you. You carefully recreated the tool you had been using and extracted the last bullet from his form, immediately noticing a change. The healing process became a little easier, and as his wounds healed, his heart started beating faster. His heart continued to beat faster and faster, and you started to worry that his heart would speed up too much and he would die from tachycardia or something similar, since he had already lost a lot of blood. The first thing you tried was to send a feeling of calmness through to his aura, but it didn't do anything and you frowned.

"Come on, calm down," you muttered, and suddenly his heart rate steadied. Your eyes snapped open in confusion, and you saw his sister was using some of her magic on his mind. Whatever she was doing was obviously the opposite of what she had done to you, and it was calming him down. She smiled at you hesitantly, and you smiled back with a slight nod.

About ten minutes later, the boy was stable, and no longer required your full attention. He was sleeping peacefully, so you allowed yourself to fold your arms on the side of the mattress and rest your head. You were exhausted, but couldn't bring yourself to leave the room in case his condition changed and he needed you again. You sighed heavily and closed your eyes.

"My name is Wanda," the brunette said quietly. "Wanda Maximoff. My brother's name is Pietro Maximoff."

"My name is (y/n) Barton," you said, looking up at her with a tired smile. "My friends call me Mira, though."

"Vhy?" Wanda asked you, still speaking quietly so she wouldn't wake her brother.

"It's a long story. Maybe I'll tell you sometime," you told her, and she nodded with a smile.

"Okay," she said. There was a long, comfortable silence, and you were about to rest your head again when she spoke up again. "Thank you."

"For what?" you asked, the exhaustion making it hard to think straight.

"Saving my brother. Ve are twins, and he's alvays been zhere for me. I couldn't imagine living vizhout him," she murmured, accent thick but still understandable. You reached across the bed, careful not to touch Pietro and wake him up, and took her hand.

"It's nothing, really. This is what I do," you said with a smile, squeezing her hand gently. She smiled brightly at you.

"I vas thinking of going to get a bottle of vater. Do you vant anyzhing?" Wanda asked you, squeezing your hand back before standing up.

"Some hot tea? If you see my dad or Natasha or even Maria Hill, they know how I make it," you said with a smile. "If you don't, just black tea with a little milk and sugar."

"Okay. I'll be right back," she said, and left the room. You rested your head on your arms again, with your eyes closed, and you had almost fallen asleep when the door opened. You lifted your head sleepily, expecting it to be Wanda, but the aura was different.

"(Y/n)," Tony said quietly, coming over to you. "I need to apologize."

"For?" you asked, rubbing your eyes. You needed to rest or refresh, and you were hoping the tea would be enough to refresh you for if Pietro's condition changed.

"It's my fault your parents missed your graduation. If I hadn't messed with stuff I didn't understand, this wouldn't have happened," he apologized, guilt evident in his eyes. You sighed and rested your head against your arms again, facing him.

"It's fine, Tony. If my parents were going to make it to graduation, they would have been there," you said, closing your eyes and hoping he would leave so you could rest.

"It's not fine, I just, I'm sorry," he apologized. "How's Maximoff?"

"Stable," you murmured sleepily. "He'll be back to running circles around the team in a couple of days. He just needs to rest until then."

"Sounds like you need to rest for a couple of days too. I'll leave you be," he said, standing up. You murmured thanks as your eyes fluttered shut, but the door didn't open right away. "Hey, (y/n), can I ask you one more thing?"

"What, Tony?" you asked, not opening your eyes or lifting your head.

"Do you have a tattoo?" he asked, and your eyes snapped open. You sat up perfectly straight and grabbed your jacket, slipping it on despite how warm the room was.

"None of your business," you practically growled, keeping your head slightly bowed. You could sense that he felt bad for crossing a line, even if he didn't know what that line was.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I just, I'm an idiot. I'm sorry," he apologized quietly, leaving the room when you didn't respond.

When he was gone, you rested your head on your arms on the mattress again, your (h/c) hair splayed out like a halo around your head. You felt hot tears begin to sting your eyes, but you refused to let them fall. You tried so hard to hide it, to be normal, and yet twice today you were reminded of what happened when you were fourteen, what had made your family move to Iowa City, and what had made Christmas so much more important to you. You tried meditating to calm yourself down, but ended up falling asleep before you could relax completely.

* * *

When Wanda came back in, holding a mug of hot tea for (y/n) and a bottle of water for herself, she noticed that you had put your jacket back on and fallen asleep. She couldn't bring herself to wake you up, so she set your tea on the bedside table next to you and went back to the chair she had been sitting in while you were healing her brother. She took her brother's hand gently, careful not to wake him up, and watched you curiously.

You were a mystery to her. You had managed to shake off the vision she had shown you when she thought you were hurting her brother. You had healed him, using up all of your energy in the process. You felt safe enough around them to fall asleep, and you were obviously very powerful, but you weren't an Avenger. Your father was one, however, and she had a hunch that your mother was too, since you resembled the Black Widow and your temper was similar to hers, but Wanda couldn't be certain. Your powers were similar to her own, but very different, and you were extremely difficult for her to read. Not like Ultron had been, because she had been able to induce a vision of her greatest fear, but harder than anyone she had met before.

While she was trying to figure you out, her brother started to wake up, and groaned quietly. Wanda snapped out of her thoughts and hugged her brother tightly, careful not to wake you up.

"Pietro!" she whispered, smiling at him happily. He smiled at his younger sister and looked around the room he was in, frowning at seeing the seven lit candles in all the colors of the rainbow and you asleep next to his bed.

"Wanda, vhat happened?" he asked, looking at you. Something about you felt familiar, yet you were completely foreign to him.

"You almost died. Vhen those bullets vent through you, you vould have died if it vasn't for her," Wanda said quietly, nodding towards you. "Her name is (y/n) Barton. The archer's daughter."

"How did she save me? And vhy?" he asked, trying to keep his voice low so he wouldn't wake you up.

"She has powers. Somezhing zhat prevents me from getting in her head. She said she saved you because you saved her dad, and you vere still alive vhen she got to you. She said it's vhat she does," Wanda said. Pietro watched you with his eyebrows furrowed.

"Is she okay?" Pietro asked, tilting his head slightly. Wanda sighed.

"I don't know. Vhen I left, she vas fine but tired, and she vasn't vearing her jacket because it's too hot in here. Vhen I came back, she vas asleep and had put the jacket back on. She seemed like something had upset her," she told her brother quietly.

"Vhat vould have upset her?" he asked. His sister just shrugged. You started to wake up then, humming quietly as you sat up and rubbed your eyes. When you reached your arms up above your head to stretch, you noticed that Pietro had woken up and smiled at him.

"Hey. You look a lot better than when I first saw you," you said, your voice still a little thick with sleep. Something changed in his eyes and he smiled at you.

"My sister said you vere the von who healed me," he said. "So it's all thanks to you."

"It's not a problem. It's what I do," you said, shrugging. "Although, I would recommend not jumping in front of a shower of bullets next time. You may not be so lucky. I do have to thank you, though, because if you hadn't jumped in front of the bullets, they would have hit my dad, and I don't know that he would have survived that the way you did."

"I just did vhat I thought Avengers vere supposed to do," he said. Wanda thumped him upside the head at that. Not hard, but enough to get the point across. You laughed quietly, tucking your (h/c) hair behind your ear. Pietro's smile widened when he heard you laugh, and his eyes brightened a little.

"The Avengers save people who can't save themselves, that is true. But there are times when you can't just walk it off. You almost didn't," you warned, and he smirked at you.

"Cap told us zhat if ve get killed, ve valk it off," Pietro said, and while his smirk made your heart flutter, you rolled your eyes.

"Cap survived being frozen solid for 70 years, and his best friend was supposed to have died but he survived. My uncles both died in front of him and survived. He forgets that sometimes, you can't walk it off," you said. You knew Steve had seen people die and not come back, but you also knew that on average, more people he had known personally that died of anything other than age had come back than the ones that didn't. He took your hand gently, and you swore you felt something strange but you couldn't tell what it was, so you kept your expression neutral.

"Thank you, for helping me valk it off," he said, smiling, and you couldn't help but smile back.

* * *

 **So? What did you guys think? What do you think happened to the Reader? Why did she get so upset when Tony asked if she had a tattoo? And what was with the vision Wanda caused? Tell me in your review!**

 **If any of you don't quite understand the Reader's powers, I've already mentioned this within the story, but I'll put it here too in case you guys want to research it. The Reader has a power called Aura Manipulation. I've been basing her abilities off of the information from the Superpower Wiki page (it's the first one that comes up when you type Aura Manipulation into Google).**

 **Again, I apologize for the accents! If you guys didn't like it, tell me in the review and I won't include accents in later chapters. I'll just use regular old English.**

 **Coming up: Clint and Natasha try to fix things with their daughter, and Pietro and Wanda meet Claire. We might even find out what really happened to the Reader!**

 **Snowflakes of love and fun to you all! ~Des**


	5. Chapter 5: Reiki

**Hey everyone! Yes, there's another new chapter! Oh and I did post two chapters on the 28th. If you haven't read Chapter 4: Sokovia, go read it before reading this one!**

 **This chapter is a little dark. I hope there aren't any triggers, but if you have any, be careful, okay? I don't want anyone to be uncomfortable. This is an emotional chapter though, so I hope you guys like it.**

 **I've also decided that I'm not going to call the Reader "the Reader" in my Author's notes anymore. She is you guys, so I'm going to just call her "you" from now on. Unless you guys think that's really weird, I think it'll keep the story connected a little more.**

 **Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 5: Reiki**

"I can't believe you saved an Avenger! Well, I can, but I can't. He's an Avenger!" Claire squealed after you told her the story. S.H.I.E.L.D. was working on finishing a new headquarters in upstate New York where the Avengers could be based, and it would be a few days before it was finished, so you came home with your parents to help your Aunt Laura with the new baby. Pietro and Wanda—not having anywhere else to go and not wanting to stay in Avengers Tower with Stark—came back to stay with your family in the guest rooms. Wanda's room was right next to yours, and Pietro's was downstairs. They were currently in town with your parents to buy new clothes. Neither of them had brought any clothes with them, besides what they had worn during the fight against Ultron.

"I know," you said, pride seeping into your voice as you smiled. "It's my job, though."

"Yeah, but that's pretty cool. How many people can say they brought an Avenger back to life?" Claire countered.

"The people that found Steve," you responded, sticking your tongue out at her.

"He wasn't dead though," she pointed out.

"Pietro technically wasn't either. He still had an aura," you said.

"Yeah but he had no pulse, wasn't breathing, and had lost a ton of blood. Most people would have thought he was dead. I know your dad did," she said, lowering her voice at the end. You still hadn't come to terms with your parents, or even really talked to them since Sokovia. You sighed.

"Well, sometimes my parents are wrong," you said softly.

"Mira," Claire said, but you shook your head.

"They won't be back for a while. Do you want to go swimming?" you asked, getting up and walking over to your closet. Claire sighed before coming over.

"Fine, but only if you wear this," she said, holding up a silver bikini with multicolored rhinestones on the top and a short skirt as the bottom. It had one of your signature silver Reiki charms stitched onto it with a blue bow, and clasped shut in the back with a silver chain. Your mom had gotten it for you last summer, but you had never worn it.

"Claire, that doesn't hide anything," you said, biting your lip.

"Then don't hide anymore. It's just us. Like you said, they won't be back for a while, and you've never worn this," she reasoned, looking at you with her signature puppy eyes. She always got what she wanted using those eyes, at least from her dad, but you knew she wouldn't budge until you put the swimsuit on. You huffed in frustration before grabbing the bikini from her and reached for a rash guard you had gotten in Hawaii, but she stepped in front of you. "Mira, you have no reason to hide. You don't need to."

"I hate you," you muttered as you walked into your bathroom and shut the door.

"No you don't!" Claire called after you, and you could hear her satisfied smile.

You sighed as you looked at the bikini she was making you wear. There was a reason you hadn't worn it before. It was a beautiful swimsuit, and your mom had tried to make it personal for you, but it wasn't your style. You preferred to cover your back, partly for your parents and mostly for yourself, and this swimsuit couldn't do that. Reluctantly, you put it on, and ran your hands through your hair when you saw yourself. You looked hot, but you felt too exposed and it made you uncomfortable. Taking a breath, you exhaled slowly to calm yourself down before walking back out into your room. Claire had already changed into her green bikini, and she was tying her hair up when she saw you through the mirror. Her jaw dropped and she froze before she dropped her hands, her blonde hair falling around her shoulders, and suddenly you were wrapped up in a tight hug, making sure not to touch your back.

"You look amazing!" she squealed, and you laughed despite yourself.

"Thanks. Now lets go," you said. You wanted to be able to change before your parents and the twins got back, and Claire knew that. You each grabbed a towel and Claire grabbed the speakers, and you made your way out to the pond. You turned on Pandora and turned the volume up really loudly as Claire jumped in, and you followed her quickly. Taylor Swift's _Blank Space_ blasted from the speakers, and you and Claire sang along at the top of your lungs.

* * *

Clint Barton pulled into the driveway of his family's farmhouse in Iowa City with Natasha, Pietro, and Wanda, and they were climbing out when they heard music blaring from the backyard. This wasn't uncommon in your house, especially with your best friends living right next door, but the strange thing was that when they heard you singing, Pietro sped to the backyard in a bluish-silver blur.

You were sitting on the edge of the dock with your back to the house, singing along to Maroon 5's _Sugar_ while your feet dangled in the water. You were happy, that is until a certain speedster appeared next to you from nowhere. He looked surprised, and you stopped singing abruptly when you realized his eyes kept flicking to your back. You quickly stood up and wrapped your blue beach towel around yourself tightly.

"(Y/n), I—" Pietro started, but you shook your head.

"I have to go," you said softly. You closed your eyes and focused on mimicking his aura, and yours flashed silvery-blue before you sped off faster than even the speedster himself could track.

You climbed up onto the window seat behind your bed, not bothering to change out of your now-dry swimsuit. You had dropped your towel somewhere on the way to your room, but you didn't care. You didn't know if you had locked your door when you shut it, and you didn't close the silver curtains that would have given the window seat a little more privacy. You didn't care anymore. You curled up against the window with your back to the door and your headphones in, the song _Absolutely_ by Nine Days drowning out all other noise as you started crying.

* * *

"Vhat just happened?" Pietro demanded, staring in the direction of the house you had disappeared into. _How had she run so quickly?_ he asked himself.

"It's called aura mimicry," your mom said, coming up behind the speedster. "She usually just uses it to better understand how someone is feeling so she can help them, but when she does it, she can mimic the person's powers or abilities."

"Usually she uses it when she's trying to help people. After Loki's attack on New York, for example, when our class went to help the people who had been injured or left homeless and scared, she would mimic their auras to see where the problem really was, and help them that way. If the problem is physical, she can heal them, the way she did with you. If it's emotional, such as fear or shock or stress, she can calm them down," Claire piped up, turning to face Pietro from her seat on the edge of the dock. She pulled one knee up to her chest and wrapped her arms around it. "She said she tried doing that to you when your heart started beating too quickly while she was healing you. She said she wasn't in the right headspace to do it, though, so it didn't work."

"That vas probably my fault," Wanda admitted quietly, moving to stand next to her brother. "I thought she was trying to hurt my brother. He vas glowing and she was using some kind of yellow light thing on him and I didn't know vhat she vas doing, so I made her see her vorst fear…"

"That's what wrong with her, then," Claire said thoughtfully, standing up. The twins looked at her in confusion.

"Vhat?" they asked in unison. Clint came over and sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Her worst fear. It's something she survived, but just barely. She's never quite been the same. It may be because we moved here after it happened, and she could just start over, but she's different," your dad said. Your mom wrapped her arm around him.

"Wanda, what you showed her is different from what you showed the rest of us. You showed me my past. You showed Tony a potential outcome, the same with Thor. You showed Steve something he could never have, and I'm not sure what you showed Bruce, if you showed him anything. But what you would have shown her, that was scary for everyone. We didn't know where she was, or if we would be able to get her back. We don't even know everything that happened to her. She doesn't know everything that happened to her," Natasha said quietly, looking at a spot beyond all of them. Wanda's eyes widened slightly, and she bit her lip.

"She shook it off so quickly, I didn't even think, I'm so sorry," she murmured. Clint shook his head.

"You thought you were protecting your brother. I think Stark did something too, though, because he came up to us on the carrier and apologized. He didn't know what he did though," the archer commented.

"(Y/n) vasn't vearing her jacket vhen I left to get a drink, but vhen I came back she vas," Wanda told them.

"That must have been Stark's fault," Pietro said, his eyes narrowing. He still didn't like Stark, and it was painfully obvious.

"Please don't tell me he asked what I think he asked," Clint begged quietly, looking up at the sky as if he was praying. Claire sighed.

"He had to have. That's the only reason she would have put her jacket back on," the blonde reminded your parents. Natasha cursed quietly in Russian, and the twins smirked, obviously understanding what she said.

"Vell, this time it vas my fault. Vhy don't I go talk to her?" Pietro asked, feeling bad for upsetting you, and curious at the same time. You were such a mystery, and one that he wanted to understand. Besides, maybe she just needed someone different to talk to.

"You could try. I don't know if she'll open up, but she may appreciate the gesture," Claire commented, knowing you as well as your parents did, if not better.

"Maybe bring her some tea? Vhen she vas tired after healing you, and I asked if she vanted anyzhing to drink, she asked for black tea with a little milk and sugar. Maybe it vill help her now," Wanda told her brother. Your parents nodded.

"I'll go make it," Natasha said, heading towards the house with Clint in tow. Claire sighed.

"I wish you luck," the blonde said. "Let me know what happens. I need to head home and update my parents on everything."

"Okay. Ve vill," Pietro promised. Claire nodded and ran off in the direction of her house. Pietro and Wanda looked around the pond before looking at each other and walking towards the Barton-Romanova household.

* * *

 _Home_ by Michael Bublé was just ending when you heard a knock on your door. You ignored it, expecting it to be your parents and knowing they would leave if you didn't respond. Instead of hearing them call your name like they usually did, the door creaked open and you sensed another aura in the room. You immediately recognized it as Pietro's, and you paused your music just as Kelly Clarkson's _My Life Would Suck Without You_ started playing. Your back was exposed and clear for him to see, but you couldn't bring yourself to care.

"What do you want?" you asked quietly, your voice thick from crying. Pietro quietly came over to your bed and climbed up onto the window seat next to you, his back to the glass so he could see your face.

"I thought you might like this," he said, holding out a mug of tea. You smiled slightly despite yourself when you recognized the scent.

"Thank you," you murmured, taking the mug of black tea from him and holding it close to you. He nodded.

"You are velcome," he said, and the room was quiet for a minute before you heard him take a breath. "I also thought you might like to talk."

"What's there to talk about?" you asked, your tone only slightly bitter as you pulled out your headphones. He sighed.

"Vhy did you get upset, vhen I showed up?" he asked quietly, and you looked up to see his blue eyes watching your face intently. The focus in his eyes made you blush slightly, and it reminded you of how people would study when they had a test they had to score well on or else they would fail the class. You looked away, focusing on the mug in your hands as your (h/c) hair fell in front of your face like a curtain.

"You saw my back," you whispered, and when he didn't say anything, you sighed. "My tattoo. I don't let anyone see it, with the exception of my family, the Jones, and the doctors at S.H.I.E.L.D. who helped me…"

"Vhy?" he asked quietly, hoping you would explain instead of being scared off. You took a shaky breath, feeling tears well in your eyes again.

"It's," you started, but had to clear your throat when your voice broke. "It's a long story…"

"I have time. Please," he said kindly, moving closer to you. He rested his hand on your knee softly, and you peeked up at him from behind your hair. His face was open and gentle, and his aura showed he really did want to help.

"Okay…" you said hesitantly, and took a small sip of your still hot tea in an attempt to calm yourself down.

"It happened four years ago. I was fourteen and in eighth grade. Midterms had just finished, and we had been released from school for Christmas break. We had three weeks off. I went to a movie with a couple of my friends right after school let out. Most schools were still in, partly because it we had had a half day, but mainly because we were the only school off that week, so the theater was empty. I don't even remember what movie we were supposed to see. I remember that I had gone on ahead to save seats since I didn't want a snack. My parents were going to pick me up when the movie ended, and we were going to go to lunch afterwards at my favorite restaurant," you said, having to stop when your voice cracked. You squeezed your eyes shut, and Pietro started rubbing your leg soothingly. When you were ready, you continued.

"There was only one other person in the movie theater when I sat down. I didn't pay him much notice. There was something about his aura that I couldn't place, and I decided to just let it go since I was there with my friends and we were supposed to have a good time to kick off our vacation. Before my friends made their way to the theater, however, the lights went out. The entire room was dark, and it was as if someone had cut off the power. I stood up, every sense on edge, and started looking for auras that would tell me where people were, but I never saw one. Something hit me in the back of my neck, and I passed out," you whispered.

"I don't know how long I was out. All I know is that when I passed out, I was in a room I didn't recognize, I was alone, and I was naked. I was sitting backwards in a chair, with the front of my torso pressed against the metal back of the chair. My arms were tightly encased in metal, making it look like I was hugging the chair, and my legs were encased in the same metal curled under the chair. There was a gag in my mouth, making it impossible to scream, and my face was pressed against what looked like a massage table face cradle and held in place by a bar at the back of my head. I started struggling, trying to focus my aura enough to break free, but I couldn't. I was too scared, and they had drugged me with something that prevented me from using my powers. I couldn't move," you said, swallowing hard. This was always the hardest part of your story to tell, and tears began to flow freely from your (e/c) eyes as you tried to control yourself enough to continue.

"When I started struggling, a door opened somewhere behind me," you said several minutes later, your voice shaky and your throat tight. "Someone came in, I never saw who it was. All I remember is hearing something behind me, and footsteps coming closer. A man's voice said something in a language I didn't recognize, it wasn't English or Spanish or Russian, and suddenly there was excruciating pain and muffled screaming. The man had pressed fiery hot metal onto my back, and he held it there for what felt like forever. He was burning me, branding me, and held it there while my magic tried to heal me around the metal. I could feel the pain everywhere, burning my skin, my muscle, my spine, and I wanted to die. I was crying, sobbing, and I still felt the pain long after he had injected me with more drugs and left the room."

You stopped there, unable to control yourself. You were sobbing, and you didn't notice Pietro take the mug away from you gently and set it on your bedside table until you were wrapped up in his arms. You held onto him tightly, crying into his shoulder, and he just held you close, careful not to touch the markings on your back. You felt like you were crying for hours, but he never let you go. He just whispered meaningless words in Russian, waiting patiently for you to calm down. He pulled you onto his lap gently, running his hand through your (h/c) hair, and eventually you could breathe again. He still didn't let you go, which you were grateful for, and when you took several shaky breaths to start telling your story again, he stopped speaking to listen.

"My magic healed me quickly, but my back would be scarred forever, he had make sure of that. Once the wound was healed enough for him, he came back in, this time with someone else. Someone poked my back, right where he had burned it, and I had whimpered quietly. I hadn't even realized that where the person had poked me was a hole that exposed a part of my spine. He didn't pay any attention, and just said something in that unrecognizable language. I think it might have been German. I heard him walk away from me for a minute, and I was afraid he would burn me again, but instead I heard the sound of a metal chair being dragged across the floor. He set it down right behind me, so close that I could feel his breath hot on my back, and said something to his friend. Whoever it was gave him something, and I felt something prick my arm before I passed out."

"When I woke up again, my back hurt even more, in seven places down my spine, and the man was still there. He touched each painful part of my back, laughing when I tried to cry out around the gag, and picked something up. It started buzzing as he turned it on, and he stuck it in my skin. It was a tattoo gun, with an abnormally large needle. He outlined the brand meticulously, making sure that it was deep enough that it couldn't be removed or magically healed. It hurt like hell, and I wanted to die. I thought I was going to die, that he would kill me, and I didn't care. When he was finally done, he waited there, watching my magic try to heal the damage he had caused. I realized later that whatever he had done to me had made it so that the healing process would make it permanent, but my body tried to heal me anyway," you told him, huffing out a humorless laugh while Pietro's arms tightened around you.

"Once he felt like it had healed, he took another needle, longer this time, and filled in the outline. It took hours. I was crying, and I faded in and out of consciousness more times than I could count, but every time I woke up, I felt the needle in my back, permanently marking my skin. I'll never know how much time passed before he was finally finished with the tattoo gun. I spent the entire time wanting to die, wishing I were dead, not even caring that I wouldn't see my family again if I died in that room," you murmured.

"The next time I woke up, I was chained to a bed in the same room, on my stomach. My back burned, hurt more every time I took a breath, and I couldn't move a muscle. I was only ever awake for maybe a few minutes while I was on that bed, but every time I woke up I was in pain. I couldn't remember the last time I had had anything to eat or drink, and when I realized that, I started crying again. I couldn't help but think that had I just stayed with my friends while they got snacks for the movie, I wouldn't be in that room. I don't know everything they did to me in that room. Honestly, I don't know much of anything that they did, except for marking my back and keeping me drugged. I didn't even find out that my back had been so sore before the tattooing process began because they had surgically implanted jewels into my spine until I was back in S.H.I.E.L.D. and the doctors there told me," you said, swallowing hard. "I don't know what day I was found, or how I was found. All I know is I woke up, and it was Christmas Day, and my parents were sitting next to my bed. I was lying on my stomach, hooked up to countless machines, but not restrained. I was in a hospital room on the Helicarrier, the same one I had healed you in. I spent my entire Christmas break in that room, and even missed the first two weeks of school. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s doctors ran countless tests on me in that time, but the only thing they could tell me was that I really was the miracle my dad said I was. They said I should have died there, with the trauma my body went through, but I had survived it. They couldn't, or wouldn't, tell me everything that had happened to me. I don't think anyone knew."

"Eventually, they let me start to sit up, and I would never tell them how much it hurt to move because if I did, I could have ended up lying drugged in a bed forever. I was slowly allowed to walk, but only if there was someone in the room to help me, and I had to use a walker. It took almost three weeks for me to get my strength back and be able to walk and move on my own. My parent's had told my friends that there had been a family emergency and they had to pick me up too quickly to tell them what was happening, and they told my school that I had gotten injured while on a family vacation. I didn't participate in sports or P.E. after that. I slowly stopped talking to my friends, I started wearing more covered clothes, and I still don't sleep on my back," you whispered. Pietro looked down at you, and you saw a mixture of shock and amazement in his blue eyes.

"That's," he said, but stopped, unable to find the words. "I'm so, so sorry."

"It isn't your fault," you murmured, shaking your head. "But thank you."

"I just," he tried, but stopped again. He had no words, and you laughed almost inaudibly, but there was no humor in your eyes.

"Before you can ask, yes, that's what upset me back in the room. Tony had noticed my tattoo. I thought it was covered by my tank top, and I had tried so hard to hide it, but he saw it and I just," you said, shaking your head. "If you don't know what the symbol is called, it's a Reiki power symbol. The general meaning is 'place the power of the universe here.' It's generally used to increase power. My parents say that when I exert a lot of energy by using my powers, the stone in the color of aura that I'm using will start to glow, and the entire tattoo shimmers. It can also be used for protection. It's kind of become my thing."

You sighed and rested your head over his heart, listening to it beat steadily. The sound soothed you a little, and Pietro rested his chin on the top of your head with a sigh.

"Vell, and my sister had just shown you your biggest fear…I can't even imagine, I'm so sorry," he whispered. You swallowed hard, taking a shaky breath while you debated telling him something you had never told anyone before.

"My biggest fear isn't what I know they did to me," you started slowly, and felt him look at you curiously. "It's of what they did that I don't know about. I'm terrified that they'll find me and do something to me, do what was done to my mom as a child, or to Steve's friend…I'm afraid to show my tattoo because I still have nightmares about what they did, what they didn't do. One of the times I woke up, a woman came into my room and stood at the foot of the bed. I never saw her face, but what she said scared me more than the torture I had lived through did. She was speaking Russian, so I could understand what she was saying. She said, she said I was going to be a good little asset, by the time they were done with me…that I would help destroy her enemies, S.H.I.E.L.D.…they were going to turn me into a monster and pit me against my family…"

"You vould never do that," Pietro said, tilting your chin up to look at him. You shook your head and let out a shaky breath, biting your lip.

"That's been said about a lot of people, Pietro. I've said that and been proven wrong. I'm afraid that people will be wrong about me, too," you murmured. Pietro sighed.

"(Y/n), you are a miracle. You vould never do that. You help people," he said quietly, trying to reassure you. You smiled slightly, but it didn't come close to reaching your eyes.

"I hope you're right," you said.

The two of you sat in silence for a while. You had nothing left to say, and while Pietro had a lot he wanted to say, he couldn't find the words. You were still a mystery to him, but you were mysterious in the way that any true miracle is. Sometimes it makes more sense to stop looking for answers and just accept that miracles really do exist. He realized that while Strucker had called him and his sister miracles, he was wrong. It may have been a miracle that the twins had survived the experimentation and developed enhanced abilities and powers, that's not what miracles are about. You were the real miracle of the three of them, and that made him want to protect you.

* * *

"He's been up there for a while," Clint said, pacing the living room while Wanda, Henry, and Claire watched Say Yes to the Dress, which really wasn't helping Clint's nerves. His little girl was alone with the boy she had saved, and he was about to go upstairs and see what was going on when your mother sighed and handed him a mug of coffee.

"Just relax, Clint. It's a long story, and you know it's hard for her to tell," Natasha said, kissing his cheek before heading back into the kitchen, and he sighed.

"I know, I just worry. She's my little Miracle," your dad reminded her, helping to carry the drinks out. Claire and Henry had both wanted hot chocolate with cinnamon sprinkled over the whipped cream—which apparently was a hereditary trait in their family—and Wanda had asked for peppermint tea with a little honey. Your dad handed Wanda and Henry their drinks while Natasha handed Claire hers before curling up in her favorite armchair with a mug of black tea made with milk and sugar, the way you liked yours too. Clint smirked when he realized that drinking tea that way must have been a hereditary trait in your family.

"Uncle Clint, she'll be fine," Claire piped up, pausing the show, and Wanda nodded.

"Pietro won't hurt her, or push her to do anything. I know my brother," the brunette reassured him. He nodded silently, drinking his coffee.

A few minutes later, you walked into the living room silently, still wearing your swimsuit, and Pietro walked in right behind you. Natasha's eyes widened when she saw you, never having expected you to wear the bikini she'd had made. Clint set down his coffee and walked towards you slowly, acting as if he was approaching a wild animal that could get scared and run away at any sudden movement. Your eyes were puffy and red from crying, and you still had tear tracks running down your cheeks, but you didn't care and neither did they.

"I'm sorry," you whispered, and before you could blink you were wrapped up in your dad's strong arms.

"There's nothing to be sorry for," your dad said softly, and you hugged him back tightly.

You felt tears start to spill down your cheeks again, and a moment later your mom's arms were around you as well. Neither of them touched your tattoo, knowing you didn't like it when they did, but you wouldn't have cared in that moment. Your parents had survived fighting a robot hell-bent on destroying the Avengers and the rest of the human race, and while you were still a little upset that they had missed graduation, it wasn't important anymore. Claire came over and hugged you tight when your parents let go for a minute, and you saw Pietro move to stand next to Wanda and say something to her that was too quiet to hear. Henry hugged you tight when Claire let go, and you noticed something flash in Pietro's eyes before it was gone.

"I'm so sorry we broke our promise, (y/n)," your mom apologized as she pulled away. You were shocked to see tears in the eyes of both of your parents, and you shook your head as you wiped the tears from your cheeks.

"You were just doing your job," you said quietly. Your dad shook his head.

"We almost lost you once. We should have been there to support you," Clint said quietly. You shrugged.

"Let me hit Stark and we'll call it even," you said, finally feeling a little more like yourself. Everyone in the room laughed, and knew everything would be okay.

* * *

"So, who is everyone?" Pietro asked while your dad was grilling and you were sitting on the lawn with Claire, Wanda, and Henry. Your cousins Cooper and Lila were running around with Liam, and your Aunt Laura was sitting with Natasha, Emma, and Killian. You had changed light blue denim short-shorts (that were almost turquoise, they were so blue), with a royal blue blouse and a pair of soft leather sandals.

"Well, you obviously know your sister," you started, teasing him, and he stuck his tongue out at you before you continued. "And you've already met my best friend Claire. The eldest boy running around is my cousin Cooper, and the little girl is his sister Lila. The younger boy is Claire's little brother, Liam. Henry is her older half-brother, and the closest thing I have to an older brother."

"Aw, you brother-zoned me?" Henry exclaimed, putting his hand over his heart. "Harsh."

"Yep, I did. Sorry," you teased, trying to keep from laughing.

"You are truly cruel," he accused playfully.

"It had to be done. I can't very well date my best friend's brother," you told him matter-of-factly. "Besides, aren't you dating the daughter of your creative writing teacher? Amara, right?"

"I am. Amara Sairish. Her mother Alice Sairish is one of the best writing teachers I've ever had. I heard that they hired her after the last teacher, Isaac Heller, was fired for improper conduct. Her husband Cyrus is the stage-fighting teacher in the drama department, but he knows a lot about astronomy too. Amara is special, though. I can't explain it, but the stories she writes are so wild and in depth that they're actually believable, and she's so passionate," Henry said, a starry look in his eye that made you and Claire giggle quietly. Wanda subtly nudged Pietro, and he blinked a few times before looking at her, rolling his eyes at her knowing look.

"Dinner!" your mom called before anyone else could say anything, and you all made your way to the counter. Your family had decided that since there really weren't enough seats anywhere that dinner could just be a picnic, so all of the kids were sitting on blankets in the grass while the parents sat at the table on the porch.

Everyone was telling jokes during dinner, which consisted of barbecue chicken and burgers and vegetables, and the night was filled with laughter. It was a nice change after everything that had happened, and no one dared to risk it. That was, however, until your parents came over to where you were sitting.

"(Y/n), can we talk to you?" your dad asked, and you nodded before standing up.

"Keep the bugs off my plate," you told Claire, who nodded with a smile. You followed your parents a short distance away, wondering what was so important.

"We want to make it up to you for missing graduation," your dad started, taking your mom's hand. "So, we were thinking, and we think we came up with the perfect graduation present that would also give you the opportunity to hit Tony."

"We thought you might like to be an Avenger," your mom said, smiling at you.

"Yes!" you cheered, hugging them tightly. You had wanted to be one for the past three years, but you never thought they would actually let you.

"Well, in that case, you're going to need a name. We thought you might like something like Aura or Reiki," your mom continued.

"Which one do you like more? Or is there a different name you had been hoping to use?" your dad asked, smiling at you. You grinned back, momentarily unable to speak.

* * *

 **So? What did you think? Now you know what happened to you! Was it too dark? Oh and yes, Henry's girlfriend is Alice and Cyrus's daughter from the end of Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. He's studying to be an Author, and met her in her mom's class. Their last name (since I couldn't find Cyrus's last name anywhere) is an Arabic name meaning magic/flower (according to a website I found).**

 **If you want to know what your tattoo looks like, that's the cover image. You know, the one that I told you was going to be important later on? Yeah, that's the tattoo.**

 **One last thing, which do you want to be your S.H.I.E.L.D. name? Aura or Reiki? Tell me in your review! The name that is mentioned the most in the reviews will be the name you choose, so if you have a preference, tell me! That's why I ended the chapter this way!**

 **Snowflakes of love and fun to you all! ~Des**


	6. Chapter 6: Party

**Hey everyone! New chapter time! There's a lot going on in this one, so I hope you all are prepared!**

 **So, for your S.H.I.E.L.D. name, the vote was Aura: 4, Reiki: 1. I hope everyone is happy with this, and don't worry, I have plans for the name Reiki to come into play later...(laughs evilly while wringing hands).**

 **Anyway, enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Party**

A few weeks later, your family's quinjet was landing at the new Avengers facility in upstate New York with the twins in tow. According to your mom, there was going to be a whole new team of Avengers trained by Steve and Natasha, and you were so excited to be a part of it. You held your bag tightly, which had a few changes of clothes and your "hero suit" as Claire had called it. You felt like you couldn't keep still, and one look at Pietro told you he was having the same problem—not that you were surprised. Wanda was calmer, but she kept smiling at you and Pietro, and would laugh any time you made a face at her or her brother. As soon as the plane landed, Pietro disappeared out the door, and you and Wanda both laughed as you followed a little more slowly.

"Pietro, Wanda," Steve greeted when he saw them step off the plane, and his eyes widened slightly when he saw you. "(Y/n). I didn't expect to see you."

"My parents said I could join the team, so here I am," you said with a smile, and Steve smirked.

"Well we're glad to have you. You got a suit?" he asked, and you nodded.

"Of course I do. My parents are Hawkeye and Black Widow," you stated, only slightly sassy, and Pietro and Wanda laughed.

"Then suit up," Steve said with a nod, walking past you to meet your mom.

You grinned at the twins before heading inside the building, where Maria was waiting to meet you. She smiled and hugged all three of you.

"Steve asked me to give you guys the tour," Maria said, nodding for the three of you to follow her. She was talking about stuff that you weren't quite following, but you memorized the layout of the facility as you walked through it. You were practically glowing as you walked around, and you spun your ring quickly to ground yourself. When you got to the corridor that had been set aside as a dorm area, Maria pointed out Pietro's room, then turned to you and Wanda.

"Mira, your parents didn't tell us you would be joining the team in time to get a room ready for you," Maria started, and you nodded.

"Yeah, with Nathaniel being born, it's been kind of crazy at home," you commented.

"That's what we figured. So, you could either share your mom's room until we can finish yours, or—" Maria continued, but Wanda cut her off.

"Vhy doesn't she room vith me?" the Scarlet Witch said, looking at you. "If you vant, that is."

"I'd like that. It'll be like a sleepover," you said, smiling, and Wanda's eyes brightened a little.

"Okay. Well, we have that settled," Maria said, motioning towards a door. "This is Wanda's room. I'll have someone bring in another bed."

"Thanks," you said, hugging Maria. She hugged you back before going to find another bed, and you and Wanda went inside. You dropped your bag on the floor and Wanda put hers on the bed with a sigh.

"What's up?" you asked. She shook her head.

"Nothing. Are you ready for this?" she asked, and you sighed. You had told her your story not long after telling her brother, and you were amazed at how supportive the twins were. They tried so hard to help, especially when you had nightmares, and you were getting really close to both of them.

"Yeah. I'm ready," you told her, smiling a little. "I have these powers, it's time to really use them. Are you?"

"Yes," she said, digging into her bag to pull out her red leather jacket and black cat-suit she had picked out as her "hero suit." You grinned at her.

"Then suit up," you said, mimicking Cap. She laughed at you and you stuck your tongue out, reaching into your bag and pulling out your suit.

You had modified the torso of the black dress Claire had bought you, leaving the back open but lining the front with some of your mom's signature Nano-mesh armor, and you had added a few little multicolored stones to the hem. You were going to pair it with Nano-mesh leggings, your knee-high black leather boots, and your leather and Nano-mesh jacket. You were pulling your (h/c) hair into a high ponytail, styling it so it wasn't too flat and framed your face well, when Wanda came up behind you in the mirror.

"Forget the jacket," she advised, and you pursed your lips.

"Wanda," you started, but she shook her head.

"(Y/n), the tattoo is a part of who you are as a person, and it's about to become a part of who you are as an Avenger. Don't hide it," she said, and you sighed before taking off the jacket. You had to admit it looked better without the jacket than it had with, and Wanda fixed your hair. She French-braided the side of your hair, weaving in a few hairpins with multicolored stones that you had thrown into your makeup bag. When she was done, you couldn't believe what you saw.

"I look awesome," you said, smiling. You looked pretty and girly, but also fierce and powerful thanks to the tattoo. You looked like everything you were, and you hadn't imagined you would feel that way, unless it was (hopefully) in your wedding dress.

"Thank you so much," you said, hugging Wanda tightly. She smiled and hugged you back.

"Of course. Now come on. Ve have training," she said, and the two of you made your way to the training area.

* * *

When you walked into the training area, Stark's friend James Rhodes (War Machine), your mom and Steve's friend Sam Wilson (the Falcon), the Vision, and Pietro were already there. Pietro's jaw dropped when he saw you, but he composed himself quickly, and the other three watched you curiously. You waved at them with a smile.

"I take it you're joining the team, too?" Sam asked, walking over to you and Wanda. He held out his hand. "Sam Wilson."

"I know. I'm (Y/n) Barton. Natasha and Clint's daughter," you said, shaking his hand.

"Got a code name?" Rhodey asked, and you smiled.

"Aura," you said proudly. Vision nodded at you respectfully, and Pietro smiled at you proudly before moving to stand between you and Wanda. Sam fist-bumped you with a grin.

"Nice. Is it indicative of your powers?" the Falcon asked, and you smirked at him sassily.

"Guess you'll just have to wait and see," you said, walking further into the room with a much more confident bounce in your step and swing in your hair. You knew they were all watching your back—mainly your tattoo—but what you didn't know was that your mark wasn't what a certain speedster was staring at.

"Your tattoo is interesting. A Reiki power symbol, if I'm not mistaken," Vision spoke up, and you glanced over your shoulder with a grin.

"You're not," was all you said. You walked to the far side of the room and started spinning your ring, waiting for Cap and your mom to come in. In the blink of an eye Pietro was standing next to you, and the others were spreading out when the two Avengers finally made their appearance.

"Avengers," Cap said, getting everyone's attention. There was a pause, as if the man out of time was building the dramatic tension, before your mom rolled her eyes.

"Let's begin," Natasha announced. At Steve's nod, several robots entered the room, surrounding the new team members. You and Pietro walked towards the rest of the group, watching the robots carefully.

"These robots," Steve started, "are courtesy of—"

"Stark Industries," you interrupted without thinking, cracking your knuckles. Wanda, Pietro, and your mom chuckled slightly, knowing you wanted to hit him, and Steve rolled his eyes.

"Yes, (Y/n), thank you. Tony gave us some robots to use for training. They're equipped with nonlethal darts he called tags. The point of this simulation is to see how well you all work as a team. If you're tagged, you're out. If you can disable all of the robots as a team, you win. Protect your teammates, and don't hold back. Your team needs to know what you can do, and so do you. Just, try not to destroy the entire room on the first day," Steve told you all.

"When you hear the bell, training has begun, and these bots aren't going to go easy on you. You've all had experience in battle, with one exception, so Tony programmed these bots to go all out. Watch how the fight first. You may be better off finding a partner to watch each other's backs, but that may not be necessary today," Natasha warned, stepping forward. "Good luck, Avengers."

With that, your mom glanced at you as if to say _show 'em what you got_ before leaving the room with Steve. You moved in closer to the rest of your new team, spinning your ring.

"They said don't hold back, but for some of us that could risk someone getting hurt. I think we should have something like a safe word for if we need to do something that could affect other members of the team that could tell them to get clear," you suggested, keeping your eyes on the robot. The bell hadn't rung yet, so you still had a bit of time to talk.

"Like what?" Rhodey asked, and you wracked your brain.

"Maybe party?" you suggested, saying the first thing that popped into your mind. To your surprise, no one questioned it.

"Party works. If we hear party during a fight we know to get the fuck out of the way," Sam said. You smirked.

"Careful Sam. Steve doesn't like that kind of language," you warned, loudly enough that you knew the soldier in question would hear you.

"You know what, (y/n)," Steve muttered into the microphone, and the team started laughing. The next thing you knew, a bell was ringing, and the robots opened fire.

You opened your hand and a ball of yellow light formed in your palm that you quickly threw at the nearest bot. It hit it hard, knocking it to pieces, and you heard a _ding_ sound throughout the room.

"Apparently zhat means ve got a point," Pietro said, grinning at you before taking off in a silvery-blue blur and knocking out several more. There was a _ding_ for each robot he took out, and that seemed to motivate everyone.

There were bursts of pure, red energy as Wanda threw herself into the fight, backed by Vision, who was taking out robots using the golden stone on his forehead. Falcon was flying overhead, distracting the bots and shooting at a few of them while Rhodey shot at them using the suit. Pietro was speeding around like a pinball, taking out another robot every few seconds, and you were throwing glowing yellow waves and energy orbs every which way. So far no one had been tagged, but the robots kept coming.

A fresh wave of robots had just been released into the room when Sam was tagged. A buzzer sounded, and he cursed under his breath (to which Pietro snapped "Language") before heading to the sidelines. Wanda was next, but she took out the one who nailed her before walking to join Sam. The next thing you knew, you were on your back awkwardly, and Pietro was hovering above you. You blinked in surprise.

"Um," you started, not sure what to say.

"There vas one behind you that shot. I knocked you out of the vay," Pietro said, sitting up and rubbing the back of his head awkwardly.

"Oh. Thanks," you told him with a nod, sitting up as well. Suddenly you stretched out your hands on either side of his head and sent out a wave of yellow light out behind him, taking out the robots that were about to shoot at you. He realized what happened and blushed a little.

"Thanks," he said, and when you nodded, he ran off, and you both threw yourselves back into the fighting.

The robots started trying to separate the team, forcing the ones who could fly into the air and pushing Pietro to the outer edges of the room. You were trapped in the center, dodging tags and taking out as many as you could. Any time one of the others tried to help, the robots towards the back of the herd distracted them by shooting at them, forcing them to change course. You were left alone, and there were more robots than you could deal with, but you weren't about to give up.

"Party!" you shouted, using a super stereotypical, teenage party girl voice that would only be seen in movies, and everyone scattered, confusing the robots just long enough.

You pulled all of your energy inwards, and the robots advanced, thinking you were giving up. Suddenly, you began to glow yellow, and that glow became brighter and brighter until it was blinding, and you threw your arms out, releasing a blast of aura that took out all of the robots, and destroyed a good bit of the training room. A deafening _ding_ sounded throughout what was left of the room before dying out, and the speakers crackled.

"I don't see how that's a party," Steve grumbled into the microphone, but your mom cut him off.

"They have a better understanding of what a party is than Tony does," Natasha sassed. "Good job, team."

* * *

"I think we should celebrate," Sam said later. You had all gotten a chance to change out of your suits and clean up, and everyone except Vision was sitting outside on the lawn. You were wearing a teal tank top with black lace trim, and a pair of black mini-shorts. The black heeled sandals you had paired with it were on the grass next to you. Pietro was sitting next to you, and you were leaning your shoulder against his.

"Vhat do you recommend?" Wanda asked, playing with the grass.

"We could go to a club tonight," Rhodey suggested. Everyone but you started nodding their agreement.

"Yeah, go for it," you said with a shrug, and Pietro frowned at you.

"Do you not vish to come?" the speedster asked.

"I'm only eighteen. Most nightclubs won't let an eighteen-year-old in," you said simply, then smiled. "I'll hang out here. Learn some new tricks to surprise you guys with at the next session. I already know one I'm going to use."

"I thought you were older," Sam said, watching you curiously, and Rhodey nodded his agreement.

"You seem more mature. The club I was thinking of will let eighteen-year-olds in. You just can't drink," Rhodey said. You weighed your options, but Pietro's puppy-eyes didn't give you much of a choice.

"Alright. But if they don't let me in, I'm not hanging around waiting for you guys," you teased, and they all nodded. Everyone decided to go change and get ready, so you and Wanda walked to your room.

You pulled out a fitted indigo dress that stopped halfway down your thigh with a sweetheart neckline, a pair of silver heels, a silver necklace with a light blue gemstone, and a matching bracelet. You straightened your hair and pulled half of it up, clipping it with a silver barrette. You did your makeup tastefully the way your dad taught you, by framing your face and touching up your eyebrows, then curling your eyelashes and putting on mascara. Finally, you put on a touch of red lipstick with a bit of lip gloss to add shine, and turned to look at Wanda.

She was wearing a tight, red crop top that was really more of a bandeau with black seams, and a high waist black skirt that stopped just above her knees. She had paired it with a simple silver necklace and red heels, and had straightened her hair, leaving it loose around her shoulders. She put on a touch of red lipstick and had perfectly winged eyeliner.

"You look incredible," you said as soon as you saw her, and she smiled.

"Thanks. You look amazing," she replied, then smirked at you. "Is there someone you vant to impress?"

"As if," you said, scoffing to hide your embarrassment, then turned the tables on her. "What about you?"

"Perhaps," she said vaguely, and you grinned at her. "I vill tell you tonight."

"Fair enough. Let's go!" you said cheerfully, and walked out into the corridor.

Sam, Rhodey, and Pietro were dressed and ready, and were talking to Vision at the end of the hall. Rhodey was wearing a plaid, button-down shirt with a red tie, a black jacket with red lapels, and a pair of dark jeans. Sam was wearing a grey t-shirt with three black chevron-style lines, a black jacket, and black jeans. Pietro was wearing an indigo button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, dark jeans, and a pair of indigo sneakers with silver laces.

"Aww, you two match," Sam said when he saw you, nudging Pietro towards you. You blushed faintly, and Pietro cleared his throat.

"Let's just go," he said. You frowned a little but shrugged, following the guys out.

"It's too bad Vision didn't want to come," you commented to Wanda as you got in the car. Rhodey was driving, with Sam in the passenger seat, so you were sitting in the back between the twins.

"He said he vould have come, but he knows people would be intimidated by him. He hasn't figured out how to look normal," Wanda said with a shrug, and while she tried to play it off, you noticed something flash in her eyes before it disappeared. Any other time, you might have focused on her aura to see what was wrong, but you knew she would tell you later so you didn't force the subject. Sam turned on the radio, and you immediately started singing along to Uptown Funk, making everyone laugh and eventually join in.

* * *

You were let into the club without a problem, but they did stamp your hand so the bartender would know you were underage. You immediately made your way towards the dance floor with Wanda at your side. The boys went to the bar to get drinks, and you and Wanda started dancing and letting go to the music.

You didn't notice when Wanda slipped away from you to go get a drink until you were alone and couldn't see anyone in the crowd. You closed your eyes and focused for a minute, looking for their auras, and found them sitting at a booth not too far away. You shrugged and kept dancing, perfectly content.

"That's a neat tattoo," a male voice said behind you, and you spun around to see a tall man around your age with shaggy, bluish-black hair and dark eyes smiling at you. You recognized him instantly.

"Kurt!" you said happily, hugging him tightly. He laughed as he hugged you back.

"Hey, Mira. How have you been? We were really worried when your parents pulled you from the Mansion after you graduated middle school and you moved. Why haven't we heard from you?" he asked, concern in his eyes, and you sighed.

"It's, complicated. My parents wanted me to start over. I talked to Professor X a few times, but they didn't want me talking to the rest of you for security reasons. I made a couple of friends, but sometimes I wish I had stayed with you guys," you said, biting your lip. He smiled a little and held your chin gently, the way he had when you were in middle school and would get shy or scared.

"You still bite your lip when you're nervous?" he asked, and you grinned at him before smacking his arm.

"Shut up. Come on. You should meet my team," you said, grabbing his hand and dragging him to where your friends were sitting. They looked up curiously when you came over.

"Found a date, (Y/n)?" Sam asked, his eyes glinting teasingly, and Kurt grinned at you before slinging his arm around your shoulders.

"Of course she did. Two attractive people meeting in a club in upstate New York? It's fate," Kurt said, pulling you close.

"That is, oddly specific," Pietro muttered, looking at the two of you.

You laughed and shook your head, having missed stuff like this. Kurt used to always pretend to be your boyfriend when you were in middle school and one of the older guys at school would pick on you, or if a creepy high school student would try hitting on you. The looks your team were giving you and each other just made you laugh harder. Pietro looked like he'd just been kicked (which you actually felt kind of bad about), Wanda was nodding approvingly, and Sam and Rhodey looked like they were about to try to beat him up for touching you.

"Guys, this is Kurt Wagner. We knew each other before I moved to Iowa City, when I was studying with Professor X after school," you explained. Rhodey's jaw dropped.

"Wait. You studied with THE Charles Xavier? As in, founder of the X-Men, Charles Xavier?" he asked in shock, and you nodded.

"I did. And since you know that name, you'll probably know Kurt better by this one: Nightcrawler," you said, looking up at him proudly. He grinned.

"You're Nightcrawler?! You know Nightcrawler?" Sam asked, his eyes about to pop out of his head as he looked at the two of you.

"Yep," you and Kurt said at the same time. The team moved over so you both could sit, and Kurt kept his arm around your shoulders. Not that you minded.

"So, Kurt, you knew (Y/n) before she vas taken?" Wanda asked, and he sighed.

"Yeah, I did. We were all really close. She was the baby of the group," he said, nudging your cheek gently. "Looks like she's the baby in this group too."

"Shut up," you whined teasingly, leaning away from his hand and sticking your tongue out. "So how are the others? Are any of them here?"

"Nah just me. I came for a weekend away from everything. Coming here tonight just felt, right," he said, smirking at you. "The others are doing great. There were a few bumps in the road, and there are a lot of new mutants since you left. You should come visit!"

"Ve're kind of busy," Pietro said curtly. You shot him a look that would rival your mother's scariest glare. He simply shrugged and knocked back his drink.

"Well, Tony kind of has to rebuild the training area. Maybe Professor X could give some pointers?" you said slowly, hope filling your voice.

"You destroyed the training area?" Kurt asked knowingly, and nodded when no one really said anything. "Party?"

"Vait, that came from him?!" Pietro exclaimed, almost breaking his glass as he slammed it onto the table, making everyone jump. You narrowed your eyes at him dangerously.

"I'm allowed to remember my roots, Pietro. I've trained with him a lot more than I've trained with you," you reminded him dangerously, and he glared at you before speeding out of the club. You instantly felt bad, and dropped your head into your hands. "This is not how team building is supposed to work…"

"Well, if I heard correctly, the Avengers fought constantly when they were getting started. They turned out okay," Kurt said, rubbing your arm soothingly.

"Yeah! They're fine. Everyone fights sometimes, (Y/n)," Sam reminded you.

"Pietro probably just needs to cool off. He had a lot of drinks," Wanda said, although you could hear the concern in her voice, and it didn't make you feel any better. You shook your head, not lifting them off your hands.

"The Avengers aren't okay, not since Ultron. They fight well together, yes. But they aren't the same, and I think that's why they're expanding the team. Not just to give new kids a chance, but because something is happening that I don't think any of them either realize or want to admit," you whispered, pitching your voice so only your team and Kurt would hear you over the noise in the club. "Ultron might get what he wanted after all."

"That won't happen, (Y/n)," Rhodey said, trying to calm you down. You sighed.

"I'm interested in visiting the others," you said, looking up at Kurt. "If you come pick me up when you're planning on heading back, you could see my mom. Or I could meet you somewhere."

"I'll come pick you up. It'll be nice to see Natasha again. And anyone else who wants to come is welcome, obviously," Kurt said, nodding at the group before turning his attention back to you. "Is your dad around?"

"No. He's back at home with my Aunt Laura, who just had a baby. My uncle is kind of MIA at the moment," you said with a shrug, and he hugged you.

"Well, either way. I'll come get you, and then I'll bring you home. Everyone will be thrilled to see you," Kurt said, smiling at you, and you sighed before smiling back.

"I can't wait," you said, happy despite feeling as though you'd just sealed your fate.

* * *

 **Wow that was a lot! What did you guys think? What's up with Pietro? Do you like that I added the X-Men to the mix?**

 **For those of you who care, I'm planning on using the X-Men Evolution characters more than any other version of them. I'll probably throw in a few others that are from different versions as the story goes on.**

 **And there's more to your backstory than just your tattoo! Are you ready to find out what else happened in that mysterious time before you moved to Iowa City? That'll start in the next chapter, if you are. Who do you want to go with you to meet the X-Men? Tell me in your review!**

 **Snowflakes of love and fun to you all! ~Des**


	7. Chapter 7: Home

**Hey everyone! I'm sorry it's a little late, but the new school year just started for me (meaning homework!) so I won't be able to update every day anymore.**

 **This chapter is a little on the long side, and it ends a little weirdly, but I hope you all like it! Originally, it was going to be a lot different, but I was writing and this happened...I like this better. Hopefully you guys will too! You get to be a little more fun and relaxed and hyper.**

 **And don't worry, what I originally planned for this chapter will come soon. *evil laugh***

 **Anyway...here's Chapter 7!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Home**

That night, you couldn't seem to fall asleep. You were so excited to see the X-Men again that after Wanda fell asleep, you wandered outside the facility with your phone to let off some steam.

You put in your headphones when you found a small clearing in the woods around the facility and turned on _We R Who We R_ by Ke$ha. You started swaying to the beat, and when the chorus started, you completely let go and danced to the beat. You even mixed your powers into your dance moves, filling the clearing with beams and bursts of multicolored lights. They were mainly yellow, and you could feel the stones in your spine start to glow the longer you were dancing (made noticeable by a warm, tingling sensation in seven spots down your back), but you weren't paying attention. You were lost in the music and you were happy, and you didn't notice the aura behind you until the music faded away.

"(Y/n)? Vhy aren't you sleeping? Yesterday vas not easy and in the morning you're leaving," Pietro said softly, coming towards you, and you pulled out your headphones before turning to face him with a sigh.

"Pietro, I'm not leaving forever. I'm just going to visit my friends for a few days. I'll come back, I promise," you said, resting your hand on his shoulder. You brushed his cheek lightly as you did, having almost cupped his cheek before changing your mind.

"I know, I just, you are my teammate. I don't vant you to get hurt," he said, his eyes and aura unreadable. You frowned. You'd never had trouble reading anyone before, except for that one old guy the day you were taken, but you knew Pietro would never be involved with that. He must have been blocking you.

"I won't get hurt, Pietro, I swear. They would never hurt me," you told him, but when you still couldn't read his aura, you got an idea.

"I don't have to go alone, you know. If it would make you feel better, you could come with me. I love for you to meet them, and maybe they could teach you a little bit about your powers," you said, starting to smile. "I know there's more to you than just running really fast. Maybe Professor X could help you figure out what that is."

"Vhat makes you think there's more? I tried finding more, back vhen I vas vith Strucker. They pushed us to find more, do more, be more, but it never vorked. Vhat makes you think I can find more now?" Pietro asked, reaching up to his shoulder to take your hand in his. "And vhy vould they velcome me? I vasn't exactly nice to Kurt."

"They'll welcome you because you're my friend. Back in Bayville, we looked out for each other, and we looked out for each other's friends," you said, squeezing his hand and smiling at him. "I would really like for you and Wanda to come to Bayville with me. I can sense that there's more to you than just what you guys can see. I don't know what it is, but I have a feeling Professor X will."

"I'm your friend? I thought I vas just your new teammate," he said, his blue eyes sad and tired. You sighed and hugged him tightly.

"Of course you're my friend. I don't tell just anyone about my tattoo," you said teasingly, then bit your lip. "At least think about it? Please?"

"I vill. I promise," he said, tapping your nose. You shook your head with a laugh as you pulled away from him, grabbing his other hand.

"Dance with me before we go back in?" you asked hopefully, and he watched you for a minute before shaking his head slowly.

"I don't dance," he said. You pouted.

"You're no fun. Maybe you are just fast," you said, swatting at him teasingly, and he laughed before tugging on your hand gently.

"I guess ve'll just have to vait and see. Valk vith me?" he asked, nodding in the direction of the facility.

"Okay," you said, a slight smile playing on your lips as the two of you walked—surprisingly slowly—back to your rooms in the facility. It was almost 4:00 in the morning, and you finally started to feel tired when he dropped you off at the door to the room you were sharing with his sister.

"Goodnight, Miracle," he said quietly, and you leaned up to kiss his cheek lightly.

"Night, Speedy," you whispered before opening the door and going inside. You bit your lip to hold in a smile as you finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Your alarm went off far too soon, and you began to regret staying up almost all night when the sun shone through the windows and right into your eyes. You groaned and turned over to face the wall, but Wanda (who was somehow already dressed for the day in black skinny jeans and a red top with black beading) jumped on your bed.

"You have to wake up if you want to go to Bayville today," she said cheerfully. Just as you were about to complain about how anyone could be cheerful that early in the morning (it was only 7:30!), you processed what she said and sat up straight, a huge smile on your face.

"Gods, that's right!" you cheered, hugging her tightly before jumping out of bed. Wanda laughed quietly while you pulled an outfit out of your bag and ran into the bathroom to shower and change. You had pulled out a casual, backless pink dress with a black belt and a heart-shaped cutout in the high neckline, matched with a pair of comfortable, worn in silver converse, a pink and silver bracelet, and a pair of silver earrings. You brushed your hair and wove it into a thick French braid, securing it with a small silver hair tie. You put on a touch of mascara and a bit of neutral colored lip gloss to complete the look, then walked back into the bedroom.

"Vell, don't you look pretty?" Wanda said with a smile, and you stuck your tongue out.

"Why thank you. Wanda, do you want to come to Bayville with me?" you asked as you grabbed the bag you had packed before Wanda fell asleep the night before.

"I don't vant to intrude on your time to catch up vith your friends," the brunette said, looking out the window. You sighed.

"Wanda, you're not intruding. You're my friend. I would love for you to meet them. Besides, you got along pretty well with Kurt last night," you reminded her, but when she hesitated, you continued, "I asked Pietro to come too."

"You did? Vhat did he say? Is he going?" she asked, spinning to face you. You shrugged.

"He said he would think about it," you replied, throwing your bag over your shoulder. "What about you?"

"Okay," she said after a minute, and you grinned as she quickly packed a few things in a bag. "It's only a couple of days, right?"

"Right. We'll be back before Tony finishes the repairs to the training room," you said, and Wanda smiled at you.

"Speaking of, Stark just arrived," she told you, and you grinned, an evil glint in your eye.

"Then I guess I should go say hi," you said, heading for the door. Wanda laughed, knowing exactly what you meant, before following you down the corridor to where Tony was talking to Steve and Maria outside of the training area door.

You strode up to them with your head held high and your shoulders back. When you were right in front of the billionaire (which happened to be right when the rest of your team walked in), you punched him square in the jaw. The force made his head jerk to the side almost comically, and he grabbed his jaw, his eyes wide as if he had just been shot.

"What the fuck was that for?" he cried, turning to face you. Everyone but Pietro attempted to bite back their laughter or hide it behind coughs. Pietro just flat out laughed at Stark's face.

"For creating Ultron," you said, your eyes narrowed. He threw up his hands in defeat.

"You said you weren't upset about that!" he exclaimed. You rolled your eyes.

"I was half asleep and did not want to deal with you. I literally would have said anything if I thought it would get you to leave," you told him, your hands on your hips.

"You are your mother's daughter," he grumbled, and you grinned.

"Why thank you," you said, smiling up at him innocently. He huffed.

"Anyway, what did you do to my training area? It looks like you set off a bomb," Tony said, gesturing through the door to the mostly destroyed training area. You shrugged.

"We had a party," you said vaguely, waving it off with a smile. His jaw dropped.

"I don't see how that's a party," he said, and at that moment your mom walked in.

"It's better than some of yours have ended. Remember your birthday party?" Natasha said sassily, and everyone laughed outright at Tony's face.

"You know what, Romanov," Stark started, narrowing his eyes as he pointed at your mom. One look from her, however, and he backed off, turning back to the training area.

"This will take days to fix," he grumbled, and you smiled innocently.

"Well, that's perfect, since I'm going to Bayville for a few days," you announced. Your mom's eyes almost popped out of her head.

"No you're not," she said immediately, and you frowned.

"Why? Kurt is already on his way to pick me up! Wanda's going too!" you cried, and Pietro sped over to where you were standing.

"I am too," he said, and you smiled at him.

"I'll be fine!" you urged your mom, but she was still hesitant.

"I just don't think it's a good idea," Natasha said slowly.

"I'll go with them, Nat, if it'll make you feel better," Sam said, walking over. Rhodey and Vision both followed.

"We could all go!" you said, looking at your team. "It'll be like a bonding thing."

"I don't see why they shouldn't," Steve said slowly, having listened to everything quietly.

"And Nat, you know Xavier won't let her get hurt," Maria chimed in. Natasha threw her hands up in defeat.

"Fine. But you come back when Tony finishes the repairs," your mom said, and you hugged her tightly.

"Yay! Thank you!" you cheered. Right then, there was a burst of brimstone-scented smoke in the doorway behind Tony.

"Did I miss something?" Kurt asked, and Tony jumped, spinning around and throwing his arms up as if he was about to attack him. You rolled your eyes.

"Tony, you are not a ninja. Don't pretend you are. That's Kurt Wagner, otherwise known as Nightcrawler. He's my friend, and my ride to Bayville," you said, going over and hugging Kurt. He hugged you back tightly before going over to your mom.

"Natasha. Good to see you," Kurt said, smiling at your mom. She nodded to him with a small smile.

"Same to you, Kurt. You look good," Natasha replied. Kurt grinned goofily at her and held up his watch.

"It's all thanks to this," he said, pointing at the watch Professor X gave him his first day at the Institute. Tony's jaw dropped.

"He has a watch that makes him look that good? I want one," Stark said, and everyone groaned.

"No, Tony. No," Steve said, shaking his head. Tony started to protest, but Maria shook her head and pushed him towards the door to the training room.

"You just focus on fixing the training area," Maria told him, closing the door behind him. Everyone could hear Tony grumbling, which sounded suspiciously like cursing.

"Language!" everyone but Kurt and Steve shouted at the door. The super-soldier threw his hands up and walked out.

"Language?" Kurt asked, smirking at everyone.

"Steve scolded Tony on his language the first time we were in Sokovia. We all use it to pick on him now," Natasha said with a shrug. "Now, you guys should get going. You want to be there before dark."

"I'll probably have to make two trips to carry everyone. I still have trouble with any more than three extra people," Kurt said, and you smirked at him.

"Leave that to me," you said, and closed your eyes. You focused on his aura and your aura flashed bluish-black like Kurt's before you disappeared in a puff of smoke, reappearing next to the twins. "I'll take the twins, you take the others?"

"Ah, you've been practicing, haven't you?" he asked proudly, and laughed when you nodded. "Fair enough."

Kurt grabbed hold of Rhodey, Vision, and Sam at the same time that you linked your arms through Wanda's and Pietro's, and with a playful smirk at Kurt, you teleported outside with the twins in tow. Pietro grinned at you, and Wanda put a hand on her head.

"Whoa…" Wanda said, blinking a few times. She was obviously dizzy, not that you blamed her. Teleporting could be hard the first time around, and you suspected it was worse what with Wanda's gift for manipulating reality with her mind.

"That. Was. Awesome!" Pietro cheered, jumping up and down. You rolled your eyes playfully as Kurt appeared just behind him, with Vision, Rhodey, and Sam. Pietro kept jumping and bumped into them, almost knocking them over.

"Watch it, Sonic," Rhodey said. He shrugged.

"Sorry," Pietro said.

"So, Kurt, where's your car?" you asked, and Kurt just smiled at you.

"I didn't take my car this weekend," your longtime friend said, nodding for you to follow him. You frowned but followed him around the corner, and your jaw dropped when you saw the sleek, black jet you had flown in more than a few times during your stay with the X-Men.

"You took the Blackbird?" you cried, teleporting in front of Kurt and walking backwards. "Do they know you took it?"

"Um, well, heh, about that…Professor X knows everything, right? Like, he can read minds? He probably knows," Kurt said, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly, and you groaned.

"Logan's going to kill you," you said, pointing your index finger right between his eyes. You mimicked shooting off a gun with your hand, and he caught your hand and spun you to face forward, shifting to walk beside you.

"That's only if he catches me. Besides, I thought you might like to fly it," Kurt said. You stopped dead in your tracks.

"Kurt, you didn't know I was going to be here. That excuse won't fly," you chastened him, then mentally facepalmed when you realized what you'd said.

"No, but we will," he said, trying to make you laugh, but when you just glared at him he coughed awkwardly. "I overheard Professor and Logan talking about how S.H.I.E.L.D. had bought some land up here, supposedly for an Avengers base. Apparently some angry guy had called to warn us not to attack or interfere if Cerebro started picking up stuff. I decided to come up for the weekend to get away from the Mansion, hoping I would see you. I thought that if I did, maybe I could convince you to come visit, and if I didn't, I would still get a couple days off."

"Some angry guy? Do you mean Fury?" you asked, raising an eyebrow at him. He snapped his fingers at the name.

"Yeah, him! He called," Kurt said, grinning at you.

"He's my uncle, you know. You met him at my eighth grade graduation!" you cried, grabbing Kurt's arm and turning him to face you.

"Oh yeah! With the eye patch?" he asked, pointing at his left eye. When you nodded in exasperation, he smiled and nodded. "That's right! I remember him! He was scary."

"Oh my gods, Kurt," you said, dropping your head into your hands. "I'm not helping you out of this one. If anything happens, I'm saying you kidnapped me and my team and are holding us for ransom."

"Fair deal. So, do you want to fly it or not?" he asked, pointing to the aircraft with his thumb. You groaned.

"Of course I'm flying. I'm the better pilot anyway," you teased, boarding the plane first. "Besides, I have two army guys on my side, and the FAA people have worked with me before. Fury helped me contact them a few times when my family was teaching me how to fly. I flew the jet on a lot of my parent's missions."

"I'm so not surprised. You could probably fly before you could drive," he teased you, but when you didn't respond with anything more than a smile over your shoulder and a shrug, his jaw dropped. "Wait, you could fly before you could drive?"

"Are you surprised?" you asked sarcastically, slipping into the pilot's seat and putting on the headset. Kurt grinned at you and teleported into the seat next to you, putting on his headset as the rest of the team piled in.

As everyone was getting situated, you called the FAA. The person who answered was a man named Jason who had cleared your flight path almost every time you called for a S.H.I.E.L.D. trip. After asking how he was and catching up for a couple of minutes (which you knew was totally unprofessional but you couldn't help it), you told him you were going to be flying into the Bayville area from upstate New York, and he cleared your flight path for you without any issue. You thanked him half a million times, and, after laughing at his teasing suggestion of going on a date to talk in a less professional setting, hung up to find the entire plane staring at you.

"What?" you asked with a shrug. "He's the one that always helps me when I have to clear a flight path."

"How often is that?" Rhodey asked incredulously.

"Why are you surprised? I'm eighteen and grew up in S.H.I.E.L.D., with S.H.I.E.L.D. training. This is like, a routine thing for me," you said, turning back to the controls and taking off with a practiced ease. You could tell the team were still staring at you, but you shrugged it off. "Remember, Steve said don't hold back because we need to know what everyone can do. I'm a very good pilot. That's one more thing you've learned about me."

"I assume there's much more to learn," Vision spoke up from his seat in the back, and you turned around for a moment to grin at him.

"Of course," you said sassily.

The flight passed uneventfully, with your mom only radioing the plane once to check on you guys, and soon you were flying over Bayville. You smiled as a feeling of nostalgia and safety washed over you, and you guided the plane towards the cliffs to where the Mansion was located. When you approached the lavish school for mutants, the radio crackled to life.

"Kurt, you're in so much trouble when you land," a familiar voice said over the headsets, and you couldn't hold back your delighted gasp.

"Scott!" you cried over your headset.

"Wait, (Y/n)? What are you doing in the Blackbird? Why now?" Scott Summers spluttered into the radio, and you laughed happily at his confusion.

"Nightcrawler kidnapped my team and I. He's holding us for ransom! Can you believe that?" you exclaimed, winking at the mutant sitting next to you.

"What I can't believe is that you're going to be all grown up when you finally come home. Be careful landing. Navigating through the cliffs can be difficult," Scott said, and you rolled your eyes.

"I'm a better pilot than you may think, Scott Summers," you sassed into the headset, and he laughed.

"I'm sure you are, Mira," he teased before the radio went silent again. Kurt grinned at you.

"You helped me dodge that one," he said, but before he could get too happy, the headset crackled to life again.

"You're not out of trouble yet, bub," Logan's voice drifted through the radio, and Kurt paled.

"Told you he was going to kill you," you taunted Kurt.

"Is that you, Miracle? What are you doin' with the elf? I thought you was off with your family in Iowa," Logan asked you.

"Long story. I'll tell you when we land," you said, lowering the landing gear and pressing the button that would open the hangar doors.

Your team all leaned forward to look out the windshield as the face of the cliff opened through a waterfall, and everyone sucked in a breath as you expertly navigated your way through it. Your landing was perfect, and you drove the aircraft to the end of the runway where it was always parked before you left and cut the engine. As soon as everything was powered down and the door was open, you were out of your seat, biting your lip out of nervousness and excitement. Sam laughed at you softly.

"Go, (Y/n). We'll follow," Sam promised, and you grinned excitedly before running off the plane. You vaguely heard laughter behind you but you didn't care. Scott and Logan were both waiting at the door when you ran off, and you rushed over to hug them.

* * *

"Kurt, vas this vhat she vas like before she vas taken? She seems so, happy and young," Pietro asked your old friend quietly as everyone piled off the plane. He watched out of the corner of his eye as his sister walked next to Vision, a little too close for his liking, but was more focused on finding out as much as he could about the girl who had saved his life.

"Yeah, she was like this. Less sassy, but what you saw is how she was before her life went to hell," Kurt said, his eyes and voice filled with regret.

"You couldn't have stopped it," Pietro told him, feeling bad for the mutant. He suspected Kurt had felt guilty about this for a while.

"Pietro, we couldn't even find her. Cerebro couldn't locate her, Jean and the Professor couldn't track her, even Logan couldn't pick up the scent. As for me, I can only teleport short distances, so I wasn't much use," Kurt said, a little bitter, but when he looked out the windshield and saw you smiling and introducing your teammates to Logan and Scott, his expression softened. "I'm glad she found you guys though. You're helping her, even if you don't realize it. The mistake we all made, the one that probably caused her to leave without a word to any of us, was we tried too hard to help. We didn't know what to do, and we danced around what had happened. None of us would have dared to get her to show off her tattoo, but you guys, you guys have her helped her be proud of it, acting as if she was born with it or as if she has it because she wanted it."

"I think a lot of it is her friend back in Iowa City, Claire," Pietro admitted, but Kurt just smiled at him.

"It doesn't matter. You still helped a lot, and I can tell you care for her," Kurt told him, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know vhat you are talking about," Pietro denied, but couldn't stop himself from smiling at seeing you happy when he looked out the windshield. "I vas the first of us that she told her story to, she saved my life, I just vant her to be happy. She deserves to be happy."

"That right there is what I'm talking about. Don't give up," Kurt said, nodding towards the exit. "Now come on. You met her parents, but it's time for you to meet her other family."

Pietro gulped reflexively before following Kurt off the plane and down to where you were talking animatedly with two tall men, one wearing red sunglasses even though he was inside and the other strong and almost primal. The second one intimidated Pietro the most, if he was being perfectly honest. This could be a long week.

* * *

You ran off the aircraft and around to the front door, tackling Scott as you hugged him. He grunted before hugging you back, laughing and ruffling your hair as Logan pulled you off of him. You hugged Logan next, as tightly as you could, and while he tensed up at first, he hugged you back just as tightly. You had a fleeting thought that it was times like this when he was the most dangerous, but you really didn't care. They were your second family.

"You're still just as bouncy as you were four years ago, kiddo," Logan said, ruffling your hair. You pulled back with a frown.

"You're messing up my hair!" you complained teasingly. Logan rolled his eyes as he helped Scott off the floor, right as Rhodey, Sam, Wanda, and Vision came off the plane.

"I take it this is the team Kurt is holding hostage?" Scott asked, amusement flickering over his face. You nodded.

"This is my team. War Machine, Falcon, the Scarlet Witch, and the Vision, otherwise known as Rhodey, Sam, Wanda, and Vision respectively. I don't know where Pietro is…" you said, frowning when you didn't see the fast boy you'd come to care about anywhere.

" _Oh, something tells me he's not too far away,"_ a friendly voice echoed, and you heard the door whoosh open. You turned to see Charles Xavier rolling into the room in his fancy wheelchair that he's had for as long as you've known him.

"Professor!" you cheered, hugging him tightly. You were careful not to knock over his wheelchair, even though you didn't think you would be able to in the first place.

"(Y/n)," Professor X said, smiling at you. "Welcome back."

"It's good to be back. How many are here?" you ask, looking around.

"Storm is upstairs with everyone," Logan answered, eyeing your teammates.

"They're all here?" you exclaimed. Scott chuckled and nodded.

"They're all here. Kurt called and said to make sure everyone was at the mansion today. He didn't say why, though," Scott said, smirking at you.

"Surprise," you said with a shrug, grinning, before turning to Professor X. "Are you sure you don't want me to heal you so you can walk again? I've gotten pretty good at it, you know. I brought my teammate back from the brink of death."

"I did know. I saw it in your thoughts when you mentioned Pietro," the professor said, a soft smile on his face. It reminded you of how he would smile at you when you were younger and needed a father's advice (admittedly sometimes with boys), but your dad was on a mission. You bit your lip and ducked your head, suddenly fascinated with your bracelet.

" _How much did you see?"_ you thought, a little hesitantly, and heard a soft laugh in your mind that certainly wasn't your voice.

" _Not much. Just a few flashes of the stronger memories. I saw you help him, the two of you meeting when he woke up, and how he helped you when you told him about your tattoo,"_ Professor X's voice echoed through your head, and you smiled a little despite yourself.

" _Thanks, Professor_ ," you thought, looking up at him with a smile. He nodded just behind you and you turned to see Pietro and Kurt were finally coming around the corner. You smiled and tilted your head to the side, a teasing glint in your eyes.

"Aww, is that a bromance I sense?" you joked, smirking at the two as they approached the group.

"A vhat?" Pietro asked confusedly, frowning at you as Kurt flipped you off. Wanda and Vision looked about as lost as Pietro. Professor X, Logan, and Scott glared at Kurt for flipping you off while Sam and Rhodey chuckled.

"Never mind. Where are the others, Professor?" you asked, turning back to him.

"Outside on the lawn. Why don't you take your team up there with you, and we'll follow? It'll take me some time anyway," Professor X suggested.

"Yeah, we need to talk to Kurt anyway. Go on ahead," Scott said, nodding in the direction of the training area. You smiled before motioning to Rhodey, Vision, Wanda, Sam, and Pietro, encouraging them to follow you.

You left quickly with your team in tow, following the familiar halls until you made your way upstairs and to the door that opened to the backyard. You closed your eyes when you sensed at least thirty auras on the other side of the door, and you frowned slightly. _How many new recruits do they have? Did they bring in the entire Brotherhood?_ You had heard rumors of new mutants joining the team, but you didn't think there were _that_ many. What you never could have expected, however, was what you saw.

"SURPRISE!" the entire room—and your teammates behind you—cheered as soon as they saw you.

Your eyes widened and your jaw dropped, and instinct took over. Your powers scanned the crowd and identified everyone, showing you that all of the X-Men you knew were here, with a handful of new mutants; your parents; Claire, Henry, Liam, Emma, and Killian Jones; your uncles Nick Fury and Phil Coulson; your aunts Melinda May, Maria Hill, and Laura Barton; Lila, Cooper, and Nathaniel Barton; and the other four Avengers. A sign hanging between two trees read, "CONGRATS GRAD!" The yard was decorated with Tiki torches and a huge dance floor, complete with a DJ station run by Tabi, and a set of tables and picnic blankets set up on the grass. There was a cake on one of the tables, set up near a grill, and a huge fire pit near enough to the blankets to sit on them comfortably but still far enough away that there wasn't a fire hazard. The sun was just starting to go down, turning the sky various shades of pink and orange, and the first few stars were just starting to shine.

"What…" you started, totally unable to speak. You couldn't believe it.

"Welcome home, (Y/n)," Storm said, coming up to you, and you grinned brightly.

"It's good to be home."

* * *

 **What did you think? How would you feel if Professor X had seen stuff about your totally-just-friends relationship with Pietro? How would you feel if you were Kurt (or any of the X-Men, for that matter)? What's going to happen next? What do you guys think I have planned? Let me know in your review!**

 **Snowflakes of love and fun to you all!**


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